COP28: All You Need to Know About Upcoming World Leaders' Climate Summit in Dubai
© AP Photo / Peter Dejong
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COP28 is poised to mark a pivotal juncture in global climate action, serving as a comprehensive review of the progress and ambitions of nations committed to the Paris Agreement. This landmark treaty seeks cap global warming to well below 2°C, preferably limiting it to 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels.
The 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP28, is scheduled to take place from November 30 to December 12 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. During this event, world leaders, global organizations, and stakeholders will come together to negotiate and collaborate on addressing the climate crisis.
COP28 will also host the World Climate Action Summit (WCAS), a high-level event set for December 1 and 2, 2023. The WCAS is an invitation extended from Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, to Heads of State or Government to participate in the summit and showcase their commitments and actions to tackle climate change.
Why Is COP28 Important?
COP28 holds significance as it marks the conclusion of the first-ever global stocktake, a process allowing countries and stakeholders to assess their collective progress toward achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. The global stocktake will unveil the distance the world is from reaching the 1.5°C target and identify necessary actions to bridge the gap.
The event is also an opportunity for countries to update and enhance their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), outlining how they will reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
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A recent study highlights the urgency to cut emissions by 43% by 2030, compared to 2019 levels, to have a chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C. However, the current NDCs fall short, projecting a temperature rise of about 2.7°C by the end of the century.
The climate change summit also serves as a platform for mobilizing and allocating financial resources to support climate action, especially for developing countries most vulnerable to climate change, including in Africa, and with the least capacity to respond. While the Paris Agreement set a goal of mobilizing $100 billion per year by 2020 from developed to developing countries, this target has not been met yet.
What Are the Themes & Segments of COP28?
COP28 has been organized around four cross-cutting themes that aim to address the causes and consequences of climate change. These themes are:
Adaptation and resilience: Addressing how to help countries and communities cope with the effects of climate change, such as rising sea levels, extreme weather, and food insecurity.
Mitigation: Focusing on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance carbon sinks, such as forests and oceans, that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Finance: Examining how to mobilize and allocate financial resources to support climate action, especially for developing countries that are most vulnerable to climate change and have the least capacity to respond.
Innovation: Exploring how to foster technological and social innovation to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient future.
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The summit will consist of several segments, including:
The World Climate Action Summit (WCAS), a high-level event set for December 1 and 2, 2023, where Heads of State or Government will deliver their national statements and showcase their commitments and actions to tackle climate change.
The resumed high-level segment, scheduled for 9 and 10 December 2023, where national statements will be delivered by those Parties whose Head of State or Government did not speak on December 1 or 2, and representatives of groups who have registered and confirmed their wish to deliver a statement.
The plenary sessions, where the formal negotiations and decisions will take place among the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its subsidiary bodies, such as the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA), the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP), and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI).
Additionally, there will be thematic dialogues between experts, stakeholders, and participants, as well as side events and exhibitions where countries, non-governmental organizations, civil society groups, and other actors will showcase their initiatives, projects, products, services, and best practices on climate action.
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Who Is Expected to Attend COP28?
A total of approximately 70,000 participants is expected in Dubai for COP28, with delegations from all 199 Parties to the UNFCCC anticipated to attend the conference. More than 160 member nations have confirmed their participation.
However, some prominent leaders, such as US President Joe Biden, have opted not to attend, citing domestic and international issues, such as the ongoing Middle East conflict between Israel and Palestinian movement Hamas. Instead, the US, the world's second-largest greenhouse gas emitter, will send top officials, such as Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry.
What Can We Expect From Dubai Conference?
COP28 is anticipated to be a pivotal moment for global climate action, as it will set the tone and direction for the next five years until the next global stocktake in 2028.
Some of the expected outcomes and deliverables from COP 28 include decision on:
On the operationalization of the loss and damage finance facility, providing financial support to countries and communities suffering from the irreversible and unavoidable impacts of climate change, such as displacement, migration, and loss of livelihoods.
The global goal on adaptation, offering a collective vision and guidance for enhancing adaptation action and support, along with a way to measure and report on progress and effectiveness.
Common time frames for NDCs, harmonizing the length, start year, frequency and synchronicity of their submission and updating, to facilitate comparability and transparency.
The transparency framework, establishing the rules and modalities for reporting and reviewing the implementation and achievement of the NDCs, as well as the provision and mobilization of support.
The global goal on finance, setting a new collective quantified goal for the post-2025 period, building on the current $100 billion per year goal, and reflecting the needs and priorities of developing countries.
Market and non-market mechanisms, enabling the use of cooperative approaches such as carbon trading and offsetting, to enhance the ambition and cost-effectiveness of mitigation actions, while ensuring environmental integrity and avoiding double counting.
