{"id":219222,"date":"2025-07-29T12:43:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T22:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=219222"},"modified":"2025-07-29T12:43:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T22:43:13","slug":"uh-takes-part-in-climate-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/07\/29\/uh-takes-part-in-climate-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa takes part in global climate conference"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Â鶹´«Ã½M\u0101noa
UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa students Edgardo Diaz Vega and Kapuaonaona Mersberg at the 2025 Korea University Climate Corps Summer School.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Students and faculty from the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa joined representatives from around the world at the 2025 Korea University Climate Corps Summer School<\/a>, held July 6–13, in Seoul.<\/p>\n

The week-long program brought together 84 students and 23 faculty members from 35 colleges across North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and the Pacific to develop action-based solutions to the world\u2019s changing climate.<\/p>\n

Representing UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa were students Kapuaonaona Mersberg and Edgardo Diaz Vega, and Assistant Professor Ketty Loeb from the UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Institute for Sustainability and Resilience<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“In an increasingly divided and tense global environment, the Seoul Climate Corps provided me with a space to learn from experts dedicated to addressing climate change while providing hands-on experience developing climate policy pitches and action plans,” said Diaz Vega, a graduate student and sea level rise policy research assistant with Pacific RISA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A large part of the conference focused on student crafted research pitches and policy proposals under the mentorship of faculty advisors.<\/p>\n

\"Â鶹´«Ã½M\u0101noa
Kapuaonaona Mersberg presenting at the Korea University Climate Corps.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mersberg presented her team\u2019s policy pitch, “Reviving Local Food and Biodiversity for a Thriving Pacific.” The proposal advocates for integrating indigenous knowledge into food systems in Fiji, Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and the Federated States of Micronesia to enhance food security and biodiversity. It calls for government-funded, community-led consultations to ensure that policy development is rooted in the lived experiences and Indigenous knowledge systems of Pacific Island communities.<\/p>\n

Mersberg\u2019s team, guided by faculty mentor Loeb, highlighted the importance of ancestral knowledge and collaboration between government and private sectors in building resilient food systems.<\/p>\n

In addition to mentoring students, Loeb also presented her own research, “Moving the Dial on Sea Level Rise Adaptation Policy.”<\/p>\n

A collaborative approach<\/h2>\n

The program\u2019s 2025 theme, “Cross-border Collaboration to Address the Climate Crisis,” emphasized the importance of international collaboration and cooperation.<\/p>\n

“We need to work together and start holding ourselves and each other accountable for global climate impact,” said Mersberg, an interdisciplinary sustainability student at UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa. “Especially with the U.S.<\/abbr> withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, it is now more important than ever to apply pressure on the climate targets set in those agreements.”<\/p>\n

Participants also visited key sites in Seoul that demonstrate best practices in eco-friendly urban planning, renewable energy, and waste management, underscoring the importance of knowledge sharing and cross-border collaboration.<\/p>\n

“My biggest takeaway is that we absolutely need global connection and engagement to combat the climate crisis,” Mersberg said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa joined 34 other universities in attending the conference. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":219243,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[951,134,1466,1314,73,9],"class_list":["post-219222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-food","tag-international","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-manoa-sustainability","tag-sustainability","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t