College Park, MD - This September 14 - 15, 2023 at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Center for Global Sustainability (CGS) and Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) hosted the first-ever two-day workshop for the inaugural Early Career Scholars for an Inclusive Stocktake (ECSIS) program. After two days of compelling and critical panel discussions and team research presentations, the ECSIS scholars finalized and submitted their formal submission to the Global Stocktake (GST) process.
“We were honored to host the first ECSIS workshop and engage our scholars and the broader CGS, UMD, and D.C. community in critical conversations on the gaps in stocktaking and cultivating ideas to bridge the most urgent gaps in the GST,” said CGS Assistant Research Professor and ECSIS program lead Mengye Zhu. “This premier cohort of scholars has spent the last few months discussing and researching the stocktaking process, with each research team releasing a policy brief at the Bonn Climate Conference in June and presenting their findings during the workshop.”
At the end of the workshop, the ECSIS workshop scholars submitted to the formal GST process. Scholars spent the prior weeks preparing the submission and presented their findings on the first formal day of the workshop. After this presentation, scholars were able to edit their submission based on feedback from high-level experts and attendees.
The three research teams presented their findings on the second day of the workshop and received comments from several experts and researchers attending the workshop. The teams presented on the role of civil society in the GST, Adaptation in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and Mitigation and Equity in Climate Finance. Following the workshop, the teams will finalize their analyses and release their findings ahead of COP28 in Dubai where the first stocktake will officially come to an end.
Reflecting on their experiences, analysis, and discussion at the workshop, the scholars had much to say. Hear from the scholars below.
“As the only African participating in the ECSIS program, this journey has been a tapestry of learning, research, networking, and a powerful canvas for creating positive impacts towards ensuring transparency and accountability in efforts towards achieving the Gail’s of the Paris Agreement,” said ECSIS scholar Ibrahim Muhammad Shamsuddin.
“The ECSIS programme facilitated rich discussion and insightful guidance from mentors and professionals in the climate field really opened my eyes and expanded my knowledge on adaptation issues globally and relevant to SIDS,” said ECSIS scholar Carlon Mendoza.
“The ECSIS program has been immensely rewarding. The opportunity to learn from, engage with and produce research with top-tier scholars from across the globe has been incredible. Yet more than anything, it is clear this is just the beginning: both in terms of monitoring the Paris Agreement’s implementation and our research careers’ documenting it,” said ECSIS scholar Injy Johnstone.
“It was such a great experience being one of the participants of the ECSIS program, as the program facilitated insightful and fruitful discussions in climate field from mentors and professionals, and valuable sharings related to climate conversations among participants, successfully expanded my understanding and made me think about what we can contribute to addressing climate challenges,” said ECSIS scholar Nur Firdaus.
CGS was proud to help lead this inaugural program and initiate a network of future academic leaders at the frontier stocktaking research to inform policymakers better and incubate innovative thinking on broader climate challenges from crosscutting perspectives.
Download the scholars’ policy briefs here and see updates from CGS's Twitter on the workshop.
