People of SFU
SFU delegation, including two students, to attend COP27 in Egypt
Two SFU students will be among members of the university’s first formal delegation to a major international conference on climate change. They’ll be attending the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27), which begins November 6 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Joining the delegation of SFU sustainability leaders are Paige Hunter and Skye Noh, who are both involved in student climate action initiatives on campus.
The annual global climate summit brings together the 197 Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). SFU’s COP27 delegation, attending the first week of sessions, will have opportunities to showcase SFU’s climate action leadership, connect with other global organizations and speak at sessions.
Hunter and Noh are members of the student-led climate action group SFU350. At COP27, they will have the opportunity to connect with YOUNGO, the Youth Constituency of the UNFCCC and many other youth activists to discuss climate action.
“The first week has specific programming targeted to our focus areas with days dedicated to climate finance and young and future generations,” says Hunter, a fifth-year student in SFU’s Resource and Environmental Management Honours program.
Hunter’s involvement with climate activism in the SFU community is embedded into all of her focus areas. As a member of SFU350 she is the current Climate Education Working Group lead, and as a research assistant with ACT – Action on Climate Team she supports projects on integrated climate action in the form of low carbon resilience.
Her honours thesis, supervised by Professor Andréanne Doyon, focuses on comparing post-wildfire reconstruction policy on private property between B.C., California, and Australia with the goal to prevent climate migration and internal displacement.
“I am anticipating that COP27 will be very different from past COP events.” says the Langley resident. “Public protests and direct action were the defining moments from last year’s COP26 in Glasgow, and unfortunately I am not expecting any action on this scale given the Egyptian government’s restrictions on public protest.”
Hunter and Noh will spend their time at the COP meeting with like-minded youth climate activists working on institutional climate action and fossil fuel divestment. “We feel honoured to be student representatives at this international event,” says Noh, a fifth-year student in the Beedie School of Business Sustainable Business joint major program. “We are excited to bring back global knowledge and insights to apply to our work at SFU.”
Noh, a youth climate activist, was named a Top 25 Environmentalist Under 25 by The Starfish Canada in 2018. She is a former co-president of SFU350 and currently serves as the working group lead of the Divestment and Community Reinvestment campaign. Her past youth leadership experience includes positions as an impact analyst for social innovation hub RADIUS SFU, a TedxYouth speaker, an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) analyst at the Beedie Endowment Asset Management fund, a Canada 150 Youth Delegate, and a co-founder of the local social enterprise Mission Roots.
Noh, who grew up in the Okanagan and now resides in Burnaby, says “COP27 will be incredibly interesting to learn about how we can apply large scale notions such as international climate reparations to local actions on mobilizing capital for good.”
Participation in COP27 aligns with SFU’s commitment and actions outlined in the SFU 2025 Sustainability Plan, which mobilizes the university to embed climate action throughout the entire institution.
The SFU delegation includes:
- Dugan O’Neil, Vice-President, Research and International
- Candace Ratelle-Le Roy, Executive Director, SFU Sustainability
- Kayla Blok, Associate Director, SFU Sustainability
- Jude Crasta, Program Manager, Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue
- Elodie Jacquet, Knowledge and Practice Manager, Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue
- Paige Hunter, Resource and Environmental Management Honours, SFU350 member, Research Assistant, ACT - Action on Climate Team
- Skye Noh, BBA Sustainable Business Joint Major, SFU350 member
The delegates will be taking over SFU's Instagram to share information and photos from COP27.
To learn more about SFU’s involvement in COP27 and for additional resources visit: www.sfu.ca/sustainability/sfu2025/sfu-at-cop-27.html