From the 30th of November to the 12th of December, COP28, the UN Climate Change Conference, will take place in Dubai.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference is the world’s largest international meeting, as well as the highest decision-making body on climate issues.
In July 2023, a letter to the parties was sent by the Incoming Presidency, announcing the specific areas that will be discussed and examined throughout the summit. Those were: “Fast-tracking the energy transition and slashing emissions before 2030; Transforming climate finance, by delivering on old promises and setting the framework for a new deal on finance; Putting nature, people, lives, and livelihoods at the heart of climate action; and Mobilizing for the most inclusive COP ever.”
The provisional total for COP28 suggests that 97,372 delegates have registered to attend in person, whilst an additional 3,074 will be attending virtually, taking the overall total of attendees to 100,446. Over one hundred world leaders will be in attendance, including King Charles III, Rishi Sunak, Humza Yousef, Emmanuel Macron, and Kamala Harris. US President Joe Biden and Premier of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, presidents of the world’s largest emitting countries, will not be attending the summit. Instead, the two leaders had a meeting in November, agreeing to cooperate on addressing climate change.
On the first day of the summit, a crucial decision was made regarding the countries which are more vulnerable to natural disasters caused by climate change. World leaders have agreed to launch a fund that will pay for the damage and the loss that have been caused by climate-driven storms. The United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United States have all announced the contributions that they will make to the fund, which in total, is up to £317 million. It is believed that the UK will contribute £60 million into the fund. “It is encouraging to see that the UK Government is committed to making the Loss and Damage Fund a reality, but this pledge is simply not enough and crucially, it’s not new money,” said Chiara Liguori, Oxfam’s Senior Climate Justice Policy Advisor.
In other news, King Charles III was the only head of state who was invited to give a speech at COP28. In his speech, he said that the world is currently “dreadfully far off track” on addressing climate change, and urged the world leaders to ensure that COP28 will be followed up with some clear change. He said, “I pray with all my heart that COP28 will be another critical turning point towards genuine transformational action, we are seeing alarming tipping points being reached.”
Elsewhere, the president of COP28, Sultan Al Jaber, claimed that there is “no science” that indicates that a phase-out of fossil fuels is needed to restrict our global heating to 1.5C. Al Jaber also said that a “phase-out of fossil fuels would not allow sustainable development, unless you want to take the world back to caves”. Al Jaber spoke with Mary Robinson, the former UN special envoy for climate change, at an online “She Changes Climate” event. Robinson said to him: “We’re in an absolute crisis that is hurting women and children more than anyone … and it’s because we have not yet committed to phasing out fossil fuel. That is the one decision that COP28 can take and in many ways, because you’re head of Adnoc, you could actually take it with more credibility.”
Al Jaber responded: “I accepted to come to this meeting to have a sober and mature conversation. I’m not in any way signing up to any discussion that is alarmist. There is no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says that the phase-out of fossil fuel is what’s going to achieve 1.5C.”
COP28 will continue until the 12th of December.
Image: Pexels
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