Young Saudi Geoscientist’s Journey to COP27 and Beyond

Layan Faisal Al Saud, Head of Solutions Mapping, UNDP Accelerator Lab

April 13, 2023

On June 29, 2022, while interviewing one of the winners of an SDG Challenge where 71 Saudi youth participated focusing on leveraging technology and innovative ICT solutions for 6 prioritized SDGs, Hala Alwagdani, a master student and young professional in the energy industry, left us with these words:

“I know I shot for the moon with requesting the COP conference, but I will be happy to land among the stars.”

This request came with no surprise as Hala’s passion for geoscience communication, youth empowerment, and women inclusion was evident. This bright mind aspires to transition and re-skill herself from petroleum exploration to geological carbon storage. The opportunity to attend COP27 to her was the start of her journey in geoscience climate advocacy and promoting geoscience for the energy transition and climate change mitigation efforts.

On November 6, 2022, Hala became the first Saudi youth sponsored by UNDP to attend COP27 as an observer and a part of the Saudi Green Building Forum delegation. This was a great opportunity to have Saudi youth represented at a Global event of this scale as well as exposing them to climate policy and advocacy.

UNDP took this opportunity to gain insights and learn from Hala’s experience by asking her a few questions. Based on that, these were the insights shared.

Hala came into this experience expecting to “listen to climate discussions and gain insight from what goes on behind the scenes at the world’s leading conference on climate change”. She was pleasantly surprised to witness “how enormous and inclusive COP is designed to be” by having not only world leaders and policy makers (which is likely expected), but also youth, advocates, and a range of businesses and civil society organizations. Hala shared how she enjoyed that the attendees are “passionate about the cause” and are “there to offer solutions and push commitments forward.”

Through this journey, Hala gained a “deeper understanding of the COP process and how negotiations progress to build legislation frameworks that fulfill the Paris agreement.” On an individual level, she learned the importance of the role of her work “on carbon removal and storage; how integral it is for many nations to reach their nationally determined contributions, and the legislative challenges it faces”. She was able to “meet and connect with invaluable contacts in the Carbon Capture and Storage realm”.

Hala engaging with like-minded youth at the first ever Children and Youth Pavilion

“I would highly recommend the attendance to climate invested youth because it is where everything relevant is discussed and decided. Whether they want to broaden their horizons, learn what every nation is doing to combat climate change, simply hear the conversations, observe policy making and negotiations, or have a voice in the process. COP attendance is invaluable.” Hala’s call for other youth to take part in COP.

Hala was fortunate to naturally meet individuals and groups that helped her navigate COP27, mainly the BINGO group and their daily briefings that kept her up to date on the state of the negotiations and key sessions to attend. In the future, she hopes to see “a clearer way to connect any attendee to their circle of interest” and suggested holding “thematic networking events” as well as “conference matching” of young individuals with experienced individuals to “better facilitate the process of navigating the conference”.

Hala in the first row of the daily BINGO briefings

To summarize, it is important to emphasize and promote inclusivity where all stakeholders are represented and engaged at a global level which includes more representation and opportunities for Saudis. More than half of the population in the Kingdom is below the age of 35. This young population has a lot to offer and even more potential to grow through these kinds of opportunities. One young Saudi’s engagement does not end with the event. Through this comes exposure, exchange of knowledge, creation of ideas and new opportunities.

“Coral Reef Hug” installation in the Green Zone representing that world gathering to collaborate and protect the environment.

As such, Hala’s journey did not end there. Instead, it reshaped her future and deepened her awareness of the climate challenge as she expressed “I recognized that climate advocacy and the role of energy geoscientists has to be a focus area for me in the future”. Moving forward, Hala applied to multiple UN youth activation programs in climate change and other relevant initiatives she learned about while attending COP27. This includes The International Youth Climate Delegate Program and Climate Champions Youth Fellowship 2023.