Talk hopes to shed light on COP30 conference 

Amid increasing concern about rising global temperatures, the spotlight will be on the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference in Brazil this November. Will it make progress in turning promises into action to reduce carbon emissions? Will it help to increase resilience in parts of the world where the impact of climate change is most keenly felt?

An event at St John the Evangelist Church in Cambridge on Wednesday 26 November, at 7.30pm, hopes to shed light on these issues. 'Climate COP30: What Happened, Why, What Now?' will present talks from Professor Michael Grubb, Professor of Energy and Climate Change, University College London; and Dr Joanna Depledge, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance, University of Cambridge. They will speak about some of the key aspects of COP30 and the potential consequences of the conference. They will also take some questions from the audience.

Professor Grubb is a leading international researcher on the economic and policy dimensions of energy and climate change. Since leading the Energy and Environmental Programme at Chatham House in the 1990s, his career has combined a wide range of energy systems and climate change research with implementation roles.

Dr Joanna Depledge is a researcher, writer and long-time observer of the international climate change negotiations. She is widely published on the climate change regime and other international environmental processes. She is also a former staff member of the UN Climate Change Secretariat. 

The event is organised by the Eco-Church team at St John the Evangelist Church. Revd Canon James Shakespeare, Vicar of St John’s, said:

“It is a great privilege to host such eminent speakers in the field of climate change and we very much look forward to hearing what they have to say about COP30. Although the conference may seem to be happening far away at a global level, we hope that the evening will inspire us to continue to act locally and do more to protect our beautiful planet.”

The talk is free of charge and there is no need to book. Donations are invited towards the work of St John’s Church. To find out more visit www.stjohntheevangelistcambridge.org or email office@stjohntheevangelistcambridge.org.
 
NOTE:  COP30 takes place at Belém, Brazil, from 10-21 November 2025. The COP (the Conference of the Parties who have signed up to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change or UNFCCC) is the supreme decision-making body of the UN Climate Change Convention. See https://unfccc.int/cop30