The complexity of climate change is on display at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP). The conference is arranged into two major zones, blue and green, with the former accessible only by parties  with UNFCCC accreditation. The green zone is a landscape dotted by venues with booths inside representing  different climate change stakeholders. Each booth delves into a different dimension of climate change – energy transition, the role of mangrove forests in carbon capture and climate education just to name a few. 

At COP 28, the Open Climate Campaign highlighted another critical dimension of climate change – open access to climate change research. A common theme in presentations and statements at COP is that we know a lot about both the mechanistic causes of climate changes and its effects. Yet, most of that knowledge is in research publications, half of which is not accessible to read without a subscription. At the Open Climate Campaign we are on a mission to make the open sharing of research the norm in climate science. We know that to develop solutions, mitigations or adaptations to climate change, the knowledge about it must be open. The Open Climate Campaign teamed up with EQTYLab and the Endowment for Climate Intelligence (ECI) for the launch of their Climate GPT and a discussion of the pivotal role open plays in not only understanding climate change, but leveraging that knowledge into new technologies. The Open Climate Campaign is also embarking on a pilot project with ECI to elevate the accessibility of climate change research beyond just physical access to the publication and the data associated with it. Our collaboration will show the potential of combining openly licensed publications with generative Al.  Across the conference venue the Frontiers Research Foundation was also discussing the critical role open plays in addressing climate change. They hosted a series of panel discussions including open science for inclusive and transformative climate and sustainability innovation and embracing open science for the climate crisis. 

The Open Climate Campaign is looking forward to participating in COP 29 in Azerbaijan where we will continue to raise the need for open access to knowledge about climate change. We are looking to partner with other organizations at the intersection of climate and open to organize panels, presentations and/or workshops to amplify our shared message. If you would like to collaborate please reach out to: contact@openclimatecampaign.org