Scheduled to take place from November 30 to December 12, 2023, the Climate Summit, also known as COP28 climate summit 2023, will be held in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. However, the choice of this location has been controversial due to the country's status as a major oil and gas producer. The 28 COP2023 climate summit will be chaired by Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the UAE's Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
In this article we are going to tell you everything you need to know about the COP28 climate summit 2023 and its repercussions.
COP28 climate summit 2023
Ivana Cvijanovic, research assistant professor in ISGlobal's Climate and Health program and an online observer of the summit, expresses her doubts: "Personally, I am quite skeptical." She brings to light concerns about the hosts and organizers' affiliation with the fossil fuel industry. Besides, points out the excessive number of representatives of this industry that will be present, which is difficult to rationalize.
According to Fernando Valladares, CSIC researcher and expert on the effects of climate change on ecosystems, expectations for a Conference of the Parties (COP) are always high, and this is no exception. This is particularly true as it could be the last chance to avoid exceeding dangerous warming thresholds for humanity. Despite this, Valladares recognizes that those who have attended numerous COPs are aware that it is difficult, almost unattainable or unlikely for most of these aspirations to come true.
Since when has the COP been commemorated and what do the initials represent?
The acronym COP stands for United Nations Climate Conference of the Parties. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (CNMUCC) is responsible for convening this conference as its main governing body. This convention was formally adopted in New York, United States, in 1992, and came into force two years later, in 1994. So far, it has been ratified by 198 parties, including 197 states and the European Union.
The 28th conference of the Parties, abbreviated as COP, means that this is the twenty-eighth meeting of this conference. The inaugural meeting was held in Berlin in 1995. These conferences are held every year, except 2020, due to the pandemic. The main goal of these meetings is for countries to collaborate and take action to achieve the climate goals outlined in the Paris Agreement. The agreement was reached during COP21 in Paris in 2015 and is implemented by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, also known as the UNFCCC.
Objectives of the COP28 climate summit 2023
One of the main objectives of the Paris Agreement is to carry out the initial global assessment, also known as the “Global Stocktake”, which assesses progress made towards achieving climate goals. This stocktake comprises a review cycle that requires an evaluation of the implementation of the agreement, detailing the progress made towards its three long-term objectives. These objectives They include a comprehensive review of the status of the agreement every five years, starting in 2023.
The objective is to stop the increase in the planet's average temperature to no more than 2 ºC compared to pre-industrial era levels. The objective is also to fight to prevent global warming from exceeding 1,5 ºC.
The aim is to magnify the ability to adapt to the unfavorable consequences of climate change and, at the same time, advocate for the advancement of climate resilience and the development that have a minimal impact on greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere.
To ensure the consistency of monetary transactions, it is imperative to adopt a development model that is both climate resilient and low emissions. To present their climate action plans, or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), countries must use the Global Balance Sheet. This process must occur every five years and requires countries to review their NDCs in an upward direction.
A review cycle, known as the Global Stocktake, was incorporated into the Paris Agreement. This review cycle requires that an evaluation of the status of implementation of the agreement be carried out every five years, starting in 2023.
Furthermore, COP28 has set the objectives of developing a program aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change, with the ultimate goal of keeping the increase in global temperatures within the limit of 1,5ºC. This program will also include the setting of a global climate adaptation and climate finance goal, which will incorporate the financial agreements for loss and damage that were ratified at COP27 held in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt. The main objective of this fund is to provide assistance to those facing the impact of climate change that they cannot afford.
Sultan Al Jaber estimates that to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement, developing and emerging nations They would need to secure more than $2,4 trillion in annual investments for climate-related initiatives by 2030.
We are on time?
Is it still feasible to achieve the goal of limiting the temperature increase to less than 1,5ºC? It has become clear that the available data and predictions do not indicate a positive outcome. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has published its latest Emissions Gap Report, which clearly warns that current agreements under the Paris Agreement are inadequate. The report reveals that our planet is heading towards a catastrophic temperature rise of between 2,5 and 2,9°C above pre-industrial levels this century.
To follow the 2ºC path, greenhouse gas emissions would need to decrease by 28% by 2030, which is only seven years away. Alternatively, for To follow the path of 1,5ºC, this reduction would have to be even more substantial, reaching up to 42%.
According to the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, achieving the goal of limiting global warming to 1,5ºC is still feasible. However, this goal requires the eradication of the root cause of the climate crisis: fossil fuels. Furthermore, a fair and impartial shift towards renewable energy sources is necessary.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the COP28 climate summit 2023 and its characteristics.
