Prahelika Deka

Job title:

Postgraduate Researcher

Area of work and how it relates to COP30:

My research explores alternate, possible approaches to imagine climate futures through collaborative work with communities in flood-risk zones. I look at how everyday practices can inform understandings of resilience and adaptation.

What are the big issues that COP30 needs to address? What are your hopes for the negotiations?

COP30 needs to focus on implementation and turn existing promises into funded, practical action.

I hope COP30 will mark a stronger recognition of Indigenous and community-led practices. I am particularly interested in seeing progress on embedding cultural and place-based knowledge within adaptation and resilience strategies.

What's your message for world leaders at COP30?

Listen. Listen differently. Listen to frontline communities who work with their environment every day: artisans, farmers, storytellers, elders. Climate action will be more effective and more just, when it values relationships to land, (his)stories, heritage, and knowledge as much as technology.

Do you have any tips about climate action that you can share?

Share stories. Question where your assumptions come from. Support local skills, crafts, and community spaces. Small actions do not solve everything, but they can shift how we imagine our futures, and imagination shapes policies and priorities.