Hobart and William Smith Colleges

21 November 2024 Foley '25 Attends UN Climate Change Convention in Azerbaijan By Colin Spencer '19

As part of his Honors work on renewable energy solutions, Finn Foley ’25 is attending the 29th meeting of parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Azerbaijan.

Supporting his Honors research and his career path in renewable energy, Finn Foley ’25 has a rare opportunity to observe international responses to climate change at the 29th meeting of parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change this month in Baku, Azerbaijan. While attending discussions among scientific leaders, a United States envoy and prime ministers from the United Kingdom, Italy, Greece and Egypt, Foley hopes to connect with renewable energy professionals and gather insights for his Honors thesis on renewable energy solutions.  

An environmental studies and economics double major, Foley is working on his Honors project “Optimizing Renewable Energy Solutions at Hobart and William Smith Colleges to Further Progress Carbon Neutrality: A Financial and Environmental Analysis” under the direction of Tom Drennen, the Stine Family Chair of Management and Entrepreneurship.

Joining top climate negotiators and world leaders, Foley looks to gain a broader understanding of the need to reduce carbon emissions and learn more about energy credits. With HWS reaching carbon neutrality earlier this year, his thesis argues that HWS should start another renewable energy project to further decrease the institution’s reliance on energy credits.

The annual United Nations convention brings together an international community of world leaders, climate change experts, policymakers and environmental industry professionals to assess progress toward meeting the goals originally laid out at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Since then, countries have agreed to set the goal of limiting future temperature increases from human-induced climate change to 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius by transitioning away from fossil fuels. A key topic at this year's event is to build support for developing countries to limit their future emissions.  

“A huge advantage of going to an event like this is that you get to hear from top minds about topics that are of utmost concern to them,” says Foley. “I hope to learn more about climate finance and understand what type of funding must go into decarbonization efforts and what type of investment has to happen in renewable energy to hit nationwide climate goals.”

Foley is attending through the Kloman Fellowship Fund. Generously supported by Lloyd and Bonnie Wilson P’08 in memory of their daughter Courtney Wilson ’08, the fund provides financial assistance for students interested in research projects focused on the natural environment or marine life. 

Foley learned about the opportunity and funding to attend during his “Natural Resources and Energy Economics” course with Drennen.

“Finn’s research and findings while at COP 29 Climate Convention will be an integral part of his Honors thesis in Environmental Studies,” says Drennen. “He’s only the third student from HWS to attend since its creation so I’m very excited that he’ll get to experience this gathering of the world’s top voices on climate change.”

Looking beyond his Honors work, Foley notes that he’s “only a couple of months away from being in the workforce and having the opportunity to build up a network of people in the renewable energy sector will pay dividends down the road.” 

On campus, Foley is a member of the Hobart football team and participates in the Finance Society and Investment Club. While studying abroad in Aukland, New Zealand, he held a finance internship at Finance Bloom. He also interned at GW & Wade, LLC in Wellesley, Mass.

Top: UNFCCC presidential members sign the Baku Continuity Coalition on Urban, Multisectoral, and Multilevel Climate Action, which ensures the prioritization of urban sustainable development as a main topic at future meetings.