Buffett Q&A: Representing Scientists in Global Environmental Policymaking with Javiera Cabezas Parra
For this installment of our Buffett Q&A series profiling members of the Roberta Buffett Institute community, we spoke with Javiera Cabezas Parra, a third-year PhD student in Northwestern's Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the time she attended COP30, the United Nations climate conference, in Belém, Brazil, as part of Northwestern University’s delegation supported by the Roberta Buffett Institute.
What is the focus of your chemical engineering research?
Broadly speaking, my research is in the field of catalysis, specifically for sustainable applications. I study and develop photocatalysts, which are catalytic materials that function with light instead of the heat traditionally used in industry. My aim is to find more energy-efficient ways to carry out the chemical reactions that industry depends on.
Many industrial reactions require a catalyst, much like the catalytic converter in a car, which lowers the energy needed to carry out the reaction. Industrially, that energy is normally supplied through heat, which means applying enormous amounts of energy to produce the molecules our society relies on. I work on ways of doing this with light instead because it would help electrify the process and make it far more sustainable.
How did you become interested in science policy and climate change?
As you carry out scientific research, you begin to learn about the things that allow it to happen as well as the things that prevent it. You arrive imagining that you will simply be working at a lab bench, and then you start learning about funding: what gets funded, what does not, and what the public sees as a priority. There isn’t a great deal of overlap between what is promoted politically and legally, what the population wants and needs, and what is actually happening in the lab.
This raises a fundamental question of how you move science from the lab into the world so that it has an impact, and that question is closely linked to policy and communication. It never made sense to me to stay in a single corner. For me, and I think for many young scientists, it is a worthwhile investment to understand all three of those dimensions, even if you do not intend to go into science policy yourself.
How did you come to attend COP30, and what did you focus on there?
I do research in STEM, but I have been interested for some time in science policy and science diplomacy. I had gained some awareness of how that works at the national level here in the United States, so I was especially curious about what it looks like internationally. My research is also related to sustainability, so it felt like the perfect opportunity, and I attended as part of the Northwestern delegation with the support of the Roberta Buffett Institute.
During the seminar we took in preparation, I developed a research project examining whether the geographic location of the conference [in Brazil] might help increase the participation of Latin American scientists. I am from Chile, so I am personally aware that access to global conferences can be limited depending on where you live. I wanted to know whether being geographically closer would make a difference, particularly because these conferences focus heavily on diplomacy and activism, and few technical experts from STEM participate overall.
What was your biggest takeaway from COP30?
My biggest takeaway was that while so many countries spoke about making decisions based on science, the actual scientific participation was not really there. I went in looking specifically at that gap for Latin American scientists and engineers, and it revealed a more global issue: there was a lack of scientific representation from most countries.
It made me think that there needs to be a change in how both academia and politics prioritize involving the people who actually do the science in decision-making, rather than relying on economists or bureaucrats to translate that work in order to make those decisions.
Did the experience change the way you think about your academic field?
It did. The project I worked on changed how I think about research as a whole. I began to consider not only how research is conducted, but how it is presented, and who values a given kind of research depending on who it comes from, in terms of field, identity, and background. The experience also showed me that you can remain involved in science, as someone who does science, without being a scientist in the narrowest sense. That is a genuinely necessary contribution to these kinds of negotiations and to the broader political and social questions they address.
The seminar itself was a valuable part of this. It brought together graduate and undergraduate students from a wide range of departments, and only two of us came from STEM. It was wonderful to learn from people in the humanities, philosophy, and political science, and to make my own research more interdisciplinary by adopting some of their approaches.
How do you think your experience at COP30 will shape your future scholarship or career?
At COP, we were part of a research constituency, and through it some of us were encouraged to apply to be nominated for an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methodology report. These reports are large literature reviews that compile what is considered the best available science, which was itself a major theme at the conference, and they are what the United Nations and individual countries use to establish their nationally determined contributions.
The report coming out in 2027 focuses on carbon capture, utilization, and storage, and I was selected as a lead author for the CO₂ utilization section. I will be contributing to it over the next two years, and I am certain it will open many doors to continue being involved in science diplomacy and policy. I would not have arrived there without attending COP.
Can you describe your connection to the Roberta Buffett Institute?
I was a Buffett Scholar during my undergraduate years, and I am always deeply grateful to the Roberta Buffett Institute for that support, which made it possible for me to complete my degree. I remain just as grateful now for opportunities like COP30 and for the international experiences ahead that matter so much to me.