United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

Understanding and marketing climate change research to an international audience

Courses

all disciplines
Aeronautics and Astronautics (Course 16)
Architecture (Course 4)
Biological Engineering (Course 20)
Biology (Course 7)
Brain and Cognitive Sciences (Course 9)
Chemical Engineering (Course 10)
Chemistry (Course 5)
Civil and Enivronmental Engineering (Course 1)
Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (Course 12)
Economics (Course 14)
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (Course 6)
Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (Course 21)
Linguistics and Philosophy (Course 24)
Management (Course 15)
Materials Science and Engineering (Course 3)
Mathematics (Course 18)
Mechanical Engineering (Course 2)
Nuclear Science and Engineering (Course 22)
Physics (Course 8)
Political Science (Course 17)
Urban Studies and Planning (Course 11)

Location

Bonn

Host Type

NGO/non-profit

UNFCCC's aim is to "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system”.

The framework outlines how specific international treaties may be negotiated to set binding limits on greenhouse gases. The UNFCCC is the name of the United Nations Secretariat charged with supporting the operation of the Convention. The Secretariat, augmented through the parallel efforts of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), aims to gain consensus through meetings and the discussion of various strategies.  It is based in Bonn, the former West Germany's capital city.

 

Student Story|Katie Arthur, Comparative Media SM '17

Katie Arthur, Comparative Media SM '17

Katie Arthur, fourth from left

My work in the Communications and Outreach Department at the UNFCCC coincided with my thesis research on climate change narratives, and so I hoped it would provide me with some interesting insights into the international multi-lateral negotiations that went towards the Paris Agreement and continue towards its ratification.

I have learned from the team’s experience and expertise about the development of the process. This has added an extra dimension to my understanding of climate change narratives which will allow me to construct a more refined intervention through my thesis at MIT.

As well as providing me with a broader understanding of my thesis research at MIT, the internship also allowed me to see that I was not as interested in the social media side of environmental communications as I had initially thought. Rather, it helped me to understand that the aspect I am interested in is, in fact, the development of institutional narratives.

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