UNSW PhD student attends inaugural Green Summit in Bangkok

In December 2022, PhD student Jack Lodge represented UNSW at the Humanitarian Affairs Asia’s Inaugural Green Summit in Bangkok, Thailand.

Held at the United Nations Conference Centre, the Green Summit was a platform for learning and discussion about climate change projects, action, and communication. The aim of the four-day summit was to tackle some of the many key themes surrounding climate change.

The Green Summit included presentations on changes which could be made on an individual, institutional, government, and multilateral basis to combat climate change. These presentations covered small-scale climate projects to discussions on the role the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) is taking to combat climate change on a continental level.

There were also presentations and workshops on how the UN communicates about climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in various contexts. This was one of the most interesting topics for Jack.

“Introducing the SDGs and climate change in contexts and terms which are more relatable to the audience was an interesting strategy,” commented Jack.

“There were some valuable lessons and interesting approaches to these topics which I hadn’t previously thought about.”

Approximately 250 delegates from 40 different countries attended the Green Summit. In between presentations, delegates were given the opportunity to discuss some of the themes and share their experiences and knowledge on the issues.

“It was an excellent opportunity to discuss climate change advocacy efforts of young people which are currently being made globally, and to hear about the different barriers and approaches.” said Jack.

Jack, who is researching transboundary water management, also shared many interesting conversations with fellow delegates on water projects.

“I had the chance to discuss some transboundary water projects and explore some great new WASH programs currently being implemented in several regions,” he said.

While the summit concluded on December 16^th, conversations have continued within the delegation, fostering valuable collaboration on future endeavours.