COP 28 Interview Series

AI Goes to Green Energy

Just last December, over 70,000 delegates from countries across the world gathered in Dubai for COP28, the largest climate change conference ever that sustained discourse over topics such as oil production and methane pollution. Beyond high-profile attendees such as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris or King Charles III, what may have been overlooked was the event that Global Youth Philanthropy led in a small corner of the conference. To highlight the role of the young advocates at COP28, YJA spoke to Xin Chen, a keynote speaker at this side event. As our generation inherits a warming planet, young voices are a quintessential part of the climate change dialogue. Through our interview, Chen, a college student at UCLA, shared his personal journey in climate change activism as well as advice for other young leaders.

Chen’s involvement in the fight against global warming began in high school, where he started out by collecting trash in the park and planting trees, actions that any person can take to make a contribution to a cleaner world. Yet Chen, whose work now involves developing better lithium batteries via machine learning, decided to “connect [his] pursuit of sustainability with [his] research.” He notes that while his high school endeavors “laid the foundation for [his] passion for the environment,” in college he “shifted towards the scientific aspect of climate change.” By starting with actions as small as picking up litter, he now conducts research that could be at the forefront of a greener world. Chen’s work with lithium batteries is critical because they are seen as the most desirable method of grid-scale energy storage – in fact, they power 77% of electrical storage systems in the United States. His groundbreaking technique of applying AI to lithium battery charging protocols demonstrates the unique perspective that youth can offer to the climate change discussion. Indeed, Chen notes that “the solutions to many challenges will not come from conventional thinking. As young people, we are more likely to generate new ideas, technologies, and approaches.”

Coming from a scientific background, Chen recognizes the value of education. His advice for youth advocates is to first understand the varying factors that drive climate change and see the whole picture from a neutral perspective before diving into the debate, saying that we all should “make informed choices” and “speak in a reasonable manner.” While encouraging the next generation to get involved, Chen concedes that the path to speaking at global conferences can be daunting. His suggestion is to start small: budding activists may look to simply planting a tree or signing a petition to start off. Of course, not everyone will end up championing climate change discourse with speeches in the international spotlight. Nonetheless, Chen speaks with hope that the next generation will rise to the occasion: “Regardless of the path we want to choose in the future, there is a role we can play in creating a sustainable future.”