When senior Chloe Zhu met Al Gore, former vice president of the United States, at the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP29, Gore thanked her for her work as a climate activist.
“I was really excited because [Gore] is a former head of state and now he’s a champion for climate,” said Zhu. “So it’s awesome to see someone really powerful and really respected advocate for what you want to advocate for as well.”
COP29 is a conference where leaders from nearly 200 countries around the world come together to negotiate climate policy in Baku, Azerbaijan.
It is rare for high school students to attend COP29, said Rachel Rosner, program manager of It’s Our Future, the nonprofit organization Zhu traveled with to the conference.
“There are tens of thousands of people there, and I think that’s a really special thing,” said Rosner. “People are excited to meet high school students there and hear their perspective.”
Zhu’s public speaking abilities and work on state climate education panels resulted in her selection as a student delegate, granting her access to the Blue Zone, a restricted area where government officials and non-governmental organizations negotiate climate policies, Rosner said.
According to Zhu, at COP29, she conducted interviews at different pavilions, areas where countries and non-governmental organizations hosted stands and events.
“[I would ask], ‘What does your country want to get out of COP29?’ and ‘What message would you give to young people about the climate and about your country’s goals in particular?’” Zhu said.
To prepare for COP29, Zhu attended several climate conferences, including a youth-led conference called the Local Conference of Youth in Tempe, Ariz.
The Local Conference of Youth made sure participants had a basic understanding of the causes, impacts of and solutions to the climate crisis to ensure delegates could understand terminology and respond to interview questions when attending sessions, Rosner said.
According to Zhu, at the Local Conference of Youth, she conducted research to share with attendees at COP29.
“A big portion of the research and the advocacy I’ve done about climate is the fact that we need a policy to stop corporations and larger entities from emitting [carbon] because [companies and] the media do a really good job of putting blame on consumers and individuals,” Zhu said.
It was inspiring to see different people from different nations meet at COP29 and move toward the same goal of making a change within the world, Zhu said.
“I look back at COP29 as probably the best experience of my life, or one of them, for sure, because it was so meaningful to me … and I was just really honored to be able to be there and represent young people in any capacity,” Zhu said.