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Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi's
Conferences at COP28

Dr Joumana El Rifai, Professor of Physics, SUAD Dr Samuel Feng, Professor of Mathematics, SUAD Dr Stavros Christopoulos, Professor of Physics, SUAD

This trio of short presentations will bring physicists and mathematicians together to discuss the role of novel materials and statistics in the path to sustainability. The talks will focus on three principal trends of research: 1) the use of innovative fabrication techniques to enhance both optical and thermoelectric properties of structural layers used for energy harvesting applications, 2) the deployment of nonparametric statistics for estimating intermittent and stochastic quantities arising from integrating renewable resources into currently existing power systems, and 3) the development of environmentally friendly materials with profound new properties stemming from the utilization of nanoparticles in combination with polymer matrices.

Dr Luc Grynbaum, Head of the Law, Economics & Management Department, SUAD
Dr Nitish Monebhurrun, Professor of Law, University Center of Brazilia, Expert on Oceans at the UN
Dr Derek El Zein, Professor of Law, SUAD
Dr Beatriz Garcia, Professor of Law, SUAD

This conference is part of one of the axes of the COP28, which is damages. One of the issues at stake is how to represent nature in court and how to compensate it. As nature does not have a legal personality, it was necessary to find ways of representing it. How can a bird population or a forest be represented in court? Representation by associations whose purpose is the protection of the environment is used; a nature park can be given legal personality. Is this su-cient? Is it necessary to give legal personality to emanations of Nature? Therefore, it is necessary to determine the appropriate means for repairing this damage: how to assess it, how to carry out reparation in kind? Public and private international law are called upon in the framework of this conference to provide an initial response, as the damage is frequently transnational in nature. Secondly, it is time for the trial, and the issues of legal representation, prevention and compensation for damages are then discussed. Finally, the stakeholders should specify in concrete terms how legal professionals approach these issues of damage to nature in the UAE and the existing measures of protection.

SUAD Admin Staff

Dr Proscovia Svärd, Professor of Records Management & Archival Science, SUAD
Dr Mehluli Mazuku, Professor of Records Management & Archival Science, SUAD
Dr Forget Chaterera-Zambuko, Professor of Records Management & Archival Science, SUAD
Dr Victor Kabata, Professor of Records Management & Archival Science, SUAD

The exponential growth of digital information/data have led to the creation of data centers that consume energy. Governments need to undertake green data stewardship strategies and policies to reduce social, ecologic and environmental challenges that have so far received little attention. There is paucity in research on green information management. In this conference, researchers of Records Management and Archival Science will discuss the impact digital information has on sustainability. They will present their preliminary findings regarding the steps government institutions are undertaking to promote green information management for sustainable development.

Prof Nathalie Martial Braz, VC, SUAD
Dr Aude Solveig Epstein, Professor of Law, NYUAD
Luc Koechlin, CEO of EDF Middle East

The concept of a twin transition, that would bolster digital transformation and environmental sustainability, has gained traction. UNCTAD thus acknowledges that “green and digital technologies are increasingly becoming intertwined”1, while the European Commission’s states that: “Europe’s digital transition goes hand in hand with the European Green Deal. During the Digital Decade, Europe faces two important challenges: the green transition and the digital transition. These might seem like two distinct issues, but really, they are twin challenges: neither can succeed without the other. And, they are both equally important for Europe’s future.”2 The UAE’s climate policy also seems to reflect the perception of a harmonious interplay between digitalization and ecologization, driving economic leadership and diversification. At the same time, the spread of digital technologies to pursue climate goals brings about challenges related to these technologies’ financial cost, their environmental footprint and their human rights toll. In this context, the high-level speakers from various sectors of society gathered at this panel will identify key challenges and achievements in harnessing digital technologies to achieve climate goals.

Dr Julia Motte-Baumvol Professor of International Law, Université Paris Cité, SUAD
Dr Tarin Frota Mont’Alverne, Professor of International Law, Universidade Federal Do Ceara

The YOUTH COP is an entirely virtual mock negotiation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP), organised by Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi in partnership with the Université Paris Cité and the Universidade Federal do Ceara. The project aims to provide a platform for university students from diverse backgrounds and regions worldwide to: 1. Develop critical thinking about climate change challenges. 2. Understand and promote the roles of states and international organizations in shaping global climate policies. 3. Improve interpersonal skills such as teamwork, compromise, and conflict resolution. By offering students the opportunity to engage in simulated COP process, the project helps build a more informed and empowered youth community ready to advocate for sustainable solutions on the global stage. The project has selected 25 teams (75 students) to simulate real-world climate challenges through 3 days of active negotiation, representing 25 different UNFCCC member states. They will discuss and produce documents on three proposed themes: Oceans, Loss and Damage Mechanism, and Energy Transition.

Amiral Christophe Prazuck, Director of the Ocean Institute, Sorbonne University Alliance, France, Former chief of the French navy
Colomban de Vargas, Director of the research federation GOSEE in Marine ecology, Roscoff marine station (Sorbonne University - CNRS)
Hervé Claustre Oceanographer, director of research, Villefranche-sur-mer marine station (Sorbonne University - CNRS)

Sorbonne University is one of the most important universities in the world for ocean sciences, covering a wide variety of disciplines from climate science, hydrodynamics, to biology, ecology, anthropology or paleontology within 30 research laboratories. Many of its researchers are contributing to the works of IPCC. Oceans play a key role in the climate system. Absorbing 90% of the heat excess due to the Green House Effect and 25% of our carbon emissions. Oceans protect us, being a powerful regulator of the climate system. But in doing so, ocean are changing, becoming warmer, more acidic, lacking oxygen in some places, losing the ice cover in the Arctic, rising the sea level ; even the global current system may be altered. Will these changes alter the efficiency of the ocean shield? Monitoring the oceans has become more crucial than ever in order to better understand their role in the climate system and anticipate their transformation that will affect marine biodiversity, fisheries and food security and costsl areas. This is why, in 2021, the United Nations opened the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Internationally recognized researchers from Sorbonne University/CNRS will present their works in the field of ocean monitoring applied to El Niño (Eric Guilyardi), the ocean micro biome (Colombian de Vargas), the Argo observing system (Hervé Claustre). Elise Basquin, a Sorbonne University PhD student, will present her work on coastal hazards related to the rising sea level.

Dr Julia Motte-Baumvol Professor of International Law, Université Paris Cité, SUAD
Dr Tarin Frota Mont’Alverne, Professor of International Law, Universidade Federal Do Ceara
Anna Paula Leite Prates, Climate Change Secretariat, Department of ocean and coastal management, Ministry of Environment of Brasil

This critical panel will delve into the profound intersection of climate justice and our vast oceans. As climate change intensifies, the repercussions are particularly poignant in the marine realm, affecting ecosystems, biodiversity, and, crucially, vulnerable populations. The panel aims to shed light on the disparities in the impact of climate change on different communities, emphasizing the urgent need for equitable solutions to safeguard our oceans and promote climate justice. It will provide a comprehensive platform for dialogue, fostering a deeper understanding of how climate justice principles can be effectively applied to marine environments as well as actionable strategies that promote justice, resilience, and sustainability for both vulnerable populations and the oceans they rely on.

Dr Julia Motte-Baumvol, Visiting Professor, UPC
Prof Tarin Frota Mont’Alverne, Universidade federal do Cerea
Nikita Sud, Professor, Oxford University, UK
Alix Perrin, Professor, Paris Dauphine University, France

As the COP28 in the UAE approaches, addressing energy transition issues has become a top priority for States in the context of global interdependence. While this subject remains the key to achieving the quantified commitments set out in the Paris Agreement, the common and equitable response that must be provided by the countries of the North and the Global South remains an important topic that requires an improved dialogue among all the involved stakeholders. In this context, the present conference, through a legal approach, aims to serve as an open forum to debate and analyse the dierent dimensions of the energy transition and their repercussions in terms of adaptation, mitigation, loss and damages, financing and global cooperation (North-South and South-South). Another focus will be on the commitments made by States at the global, regional, national and local levels, the strategies to meet them, the challenges faced and the solutions to overcome them in a multilateral, eective, just and equitable manner. Therefore, this conference can play a crucial role in supporting the UAE’s eorts to become a global player on climate change.

Dr David Goeury, Professor of Geography, Sorbonne University

Oasis societies have established multi-millennia microclimates in contexts of extreme aridity and heat, through the implementation of urban planning that combines dense housing and intensive agriculture. They allied themselves with singular plants and developed complex technologies mobilizing local resources. Oasis agri-urban systems are based on interlocking circular economies linking construction and agriculture, while also acting as relays for the great land-based trade routes. These oasis societies have been progressively disqualified in favor of an industrial-urban metabolism based on fossil fuels and the mobilization of materials from all over the world. Yet these industrial-urban metabolisms are incapable of establishing livable microclimates. On the contrary, they generate high levels of local air, water and soil pollution. They also generate enormous quantities of greenhouse gases. Today's urgent need to adapt large cities means that hypothetical technological solutions appear incapable of reducing global warming. On the other hand, oasis metabolism is proving to be a source of palaeoinnovation - the possibility of drawing inspiration from past innovations to define a liveable future. We'll be looking at two ways of establishing new, sustainable agri-urban metabolisms: the reuse of treated wastewater and eco-construction. We'll show how it's possible to move away from industrial logics linking extractivism and waste demultiplication and set up looping logics instead.

Dr. Rose-Marie Ferré, Art Historian (Senior Lecturer) Sorbonne University Paris, Head of the Master’s degree Expertise and Art Market, Art consultant

Heritage, art and culture are precious goods for the entire human community. It is what links people and enables successive generations to pass on a history and values, and to bring meaning, through beauty, to their environment. Archaeological data can teach us how the ancients lived in harmony with nature, and how they coped with environmental change. Today, architects, urban planners and political leaders are aware of the need to build cities and living spaces that respect ecosystems. The art world, meanwhile, is beginning to consider the sustainability of systems for promoting creation, and to think about their eco-responsibility. Indeed, when we look at the impact of activities linked to the art market, we can only wonder at the ambivalence of this field, which celebrates art and promotes creators and their discourses, builds tomorrow's heritage, and at the same time generates a certain degree of pollution through the movement of people and works of art, and the networks involved. But, the point is: how can we think about the sustainability of beauty and liveable environments in the post-industrial era? At last, what is the nature and power of art and its protagonists to bring about positive change for the climate? Then, what is the commitment to sustainability and the implementation of eco-responsibility by players in the world of culture and the art market (institutions, experts, art dealers, auction houses, but also artists and collectors)? What sustainable and relevant solutions are being proposed today? COP 28, held in the United Arab Emirates in The Year of Sustainability, is the perfect opportunity to raise awareness of ecological issues and passed on the baton to future generations.

Dr Beatriz Maria Garcia de Oliveira, Professor of International Law, SUAD
Dr Camilla Quental, Business Organizations and Society, NYUAD
Bruna Lessa Bastos, Co-Founder & Development Director at Instituto E.V.A. | Advisor IBKK | Sustainability | Social Impact
Adele Guidot, Programme Lead, UN Global Compact Network UAE
Chantal Line Carpentier Head of the Trade and Environment Division of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Sara Llalla, Founder, EcoCentric

The objective of this panel is to discuss and explore innovative approaches and strategies employed by social enterprises, leading to meaningful and measurable social impact and environmental benefits. The panel will also investigate the applicability of best practices used by social enterprises both in developed and developing countries at large, and specifically in the context of the UAE.

Dr Beatriz Maria Garcia de Oliveira, SUAD
Prof Brendan Mackey, Director of the Griffith Climate Action Beacon at Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
Jaciara Sousa de Vasconcelos, Indigenous Youth leader, Engajamundo Youth Association
Paulo do Nascimento Galvão, Indigenous Youth leader, Engajamundo Youth Association
Cassio Inglez de Sousa, Anthropologist, Comtexto Consultoria

This panel aims to explore the integration of Indigenous perspectives and content into higher education. It will facilitate discussions on educational experiences, effective pedagogical approaches, and contemplate an initial roadmap for curriculum development. The panel will also address strategies for evaluating the impact of introducing Indigenous perspectives into university curricula.

Prof Nicole D'Almeida, Professor Emeritus of Universities, specializing in the field of organizational and environmental communication, Faculty of Humanities, CELSA, Sorbonne University

The aim of this talk is to understand how the environment and climate have become public issues, shaped by a cultural context in which a concert, a polyphony or even a cacophony of families of actors (scientific, economic, media, political, artistic and social) take part, framing the subject according to specific verbal and iconic rhetoric.

Prof Patrizia Ingallina (SU, Paris-MEDIATIONS)
Marco Carlotti (SU, Paris-MEDIATIONS)
Dr Jungyoon Park (Moung-Ji University Seoul)

Smart cities and knowledge-based cities alike, the use of new technologies in the construction of the city of the future remains central, as it is directly linked to the notion of innovation. This city, in the age of the Anthropocene, must also reinterpret the concepts of the intelligent, sustainable and resilient city (A. Tzioutziou Y. Xenidis, 2021). Economic imperatives can no longer take precedence in the face of the dramatic situation in which the planet finds itself ('Biosphere disruption', Carrillo, 2021). Another question concerns the quest for innovation in the city of knowledge (Garner, 2012). The success (or failure) of an innovation is due to the way in which the elements (or ingredients) that make up its ecosystem are combined. Like nature, the innovation ecosystem may or may not be conducive to growth and sustainability. Finally, the need for the city to be able to take account of the ecological dimension as well as the technological dimension is now widespread (Ingallina, 2019). The examples of South Korea and Morocco are interesting in this respect. The city of the future will have to integrate these two aspects.