COP28 UAE, scheduled for November 2023 in the United Arab Emirates, represents a pivotal juncture for collective, transformative climate initiatives on a global scale.
What is a ‘COP’?
COP, or Conference of the Parties, is a series of significant annual meetings at the governmental level under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), aimed at addressing climate change.
The UNFCCC, which became effective on March 21, 1994, is a global agreement to avert serious human impacts on the climate. With 198 countries ratifying it, the UNFCCC boasts nearly universal participation. The Paris Agreement, established in 2015, enhances the convention’s objectives. COP28 is anticipated to draw over 60,000 participants, including UNFCCC member state delegates, industry leaders, youth activists, indigenous community representatives, journalists, and more.
This conference is crucial for assessing the global progress in combating the climate crisis and determining necessary adjustments.
Why is the COP28 conference important?
Since COP21 in 2015, where the Paris Agreement was adopted, subsequent COPs have focused on achieving its primary objective: limiting the global temperature increase to well below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels. If the Paris Agreement laid the foundation, COP24 in Katowice and COP26 in Glasgow outlined the roadmap. COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh shifted the focus to implementation.
COP28 stands as a critical milestone, marking a transition from agreement on stronger climate actions (the ‘WHAT’) to demonstrating the methods of their implementation (the ‘HOW’). Evaluating progress towards the Paris Agreement targets, including mitigation, adaptation, and climate finance, and refining existing strategies, are vital aspects of COP28.
The conference will conclude the first “Global Stocktake” initiated at COP26 in Glasgow, aimed at reviewing current efforts and guiding countries toward more robust and rapid climate action plans. The decisions made at COP28 could become the most significant post-2015 Paris Agreement.
What is at stake?
The stakes involve the health of our planet and the welfare of humanity. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted during his pre-COP28 visit to Antarctica, the region, once considered a “sleeping giant,” is now being disturbed by climate chaos. The dramatic reduction in Antarctic sea ice, hitting a record low this September, has profound global implications.
Over a century of burning fossil fuels and unsustainable practices have already caused a global temperature increase of 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels, heightening the severity and frequency of extreme weather events. With 2023 potentially being the hottest year recorded and the last eight years being the warmest globally, the urgency of addressing climate change is clear.
Guterres has repeatedly warned that without significant changes, the world risks a 3°C temperature rise, leading to a perilous and unstable future. He emphasizes that the ongoing climate crisis does not only affect distant regions but has direct, catastrophic impacts globally.
Nearly half of the global population resides in areas highly susceptible to climate change. While the least developed and small island nations have contributed minimally to this crisis, they face its most severe consequences, highlighting the urgent need for global climate action and solidarity.
What is the United Arab Emirates’ role, as host country of COP28?
The UN climate conferences are hosted by a different country each year. This year, the United Arab Emirates is hosting the COP28 summit between 30 November and 12 December.
The host also appoints a president who leads the climate negotiations and provide leadership and overall vision.
Dr. Sultan al-Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology for the UAE, will preside over the negotiations at COP28.
The incoming presidency has stated its main focus on changes in four key areas:
• Fast-tracking the energy transition and slashing emissions before 2030
• Transforming climate finance, by delivering on old promises and setting framework for a new deal
• Putting nature, people, lives, and livelihoods at the heart of climate action
• Mobilizing for the most inclusive COP ever