Rebecca Foody to work at UN’s COP27 conference in Egypt

Rebecca Foody, a senior at Cornell University, is one of 11 undergraduate and graduate students from the university who will attend the United Nations’ upcoming Conference of the Parties – COP27, the annual convention to ensure countries meet global climate targets set by the Paris Agreement. The event is being held in Sham el-Sheikh, Egypt, Nov. 6 – 18.

Foody, 23, is the daughter of Jim and Nancy Foody of Lakeside community, Greenwood Lake, Hewitt. She is a graduate of the West Milford High School Class of 2019 and was her class valedictorian.

Studying Earth and Atmospheric Sciences with a minor in Climate Change in the College of Engineering, Foody is currently the president of Cornell chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World, having previously been the team’s Outreach Director and the Business and Outreach Sub-Team Lead. She is also an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Sara Pryor’s lab, seeking to quantify the seasonality and reliability of offshore wind energy resources in New York Bight. Previously, she interned at both NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Miami, Florida where she completed a research project aiming to improve knowledge of air-sea surface turbulent heat refluxes in the North Atlantic with Concurrent Shipboard Measurements, and Common Energy, where she advocated for local enrollment in new community solar programs. Upon graduation, she is seeking to attend graduate school to study sustainability and environmental management.

“I’ve been looking forward to taking this class since I was a freshman, with the hopes of attending the UN COP conference, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it,” Foody said. “I will be assisting the delegation of the Earth Child Institute, a non-governmental organization that represents children and youth to rebuild a normal-climate future.”

The class is taught by Allison Chatrchyan, senior research associate in the departments of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Global Development (CALS), who has been taking students to interact with global leaders since COP22, in 2017.

“I am eager to see how international negotiations take place,” Foody said. “I want to see what I can do on a global scale to fight climate change.”

A team, including Foody and two other students, is conducting research on the needs for climate-smart agriculture tools in Zambia.

Nearly 15,000 delegates are expected to attend COP27, including 90 heads of state. Several countries are expected to announce 2030 emission targets before the meeting, according to the White House. Since late August the students in the class have been engrossed in global climate issues, as they learn about the science behind policies through the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Funding for student travel was provided through Cornell student travel grants and support through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Engineering and the Cornell Brooks School of Public Policy. In addition to the students, Cornell’s presence at COP27 includes faculty and staff who will be engaging partners and leading discussions.