UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE COP28

UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE COP28

WHY IN NEWS?

• The Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will host the 28th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP 28) starting from 30 November.

WHAT ARE COP MEETINGS ?

• The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the group of nations that have signed the UN Framework Conventionon Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was put together in 1992.
• It commits them to act together to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations “at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human-induced) interference with the climate system”. Since then the Parties, or nations, have met almost annually.
• The negotiating parties include governments that have signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol and/or the Paris Agreement.
• The COPs are also attended by thousands of representatives from civil society, the private sector, international organizations and the media.
• The COP is where the world comes together to agree on ways to address the climate crisis, such as limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

ABOUT COP28:

• COP 28 refers to the United Nations Climate Change Conference taking place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 30 November until 12 December 2023.
• More than 70,000 delegates are expected to attend COP28, including the member states (or Parties) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• Business leaders, young people, climate scientists, Indigenous Peoples, journalists, and various other experts and stakeholders are also among the participants

IMPORTANCE OF COP28:

• With the most important details of the Paris Climate Change Agreement negotiated and agreed over the last few years, COP 28 is all about implementing the Agreement and ramping up ambition and action.
• The COP28 will take place in the backdrop of devastating floods and heatwaves, fierce wildfires and the Earth’s hottest summer on record this year.
• The conference comes weeks after a UN report said greenhouse gases in the atmosphere hit a record high in 2022.
• The latest science from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates that greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut 43% by 2030, compared to 2019 levels.
• This is critical to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of this century and avoid the worst impacts of climate change, including more frequent and severe droughts, heatwaves and rainfall.
• Climate change is ranked in the top 10 threats in the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Risks Report.

• Although the 1.5 degree Celsius target became binding in the 2015 Paris Agreement, the goal was first adopted after COP16, more than a decade ago.
• A report from the World Meteorological Organization in May also found that with current trends, the world may temporarily breach the 1.5 degrees Celsius target in 2027.

• COP 28 is an opportunity to identify global solutions for limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, inform countries’ preparations for revised and more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (national climate plans) due by 2025, accelerate the green transition that is already happening and ultimately achieve the delivery of the Paris Agreement goals.

OBJECTIVES OF COP28:

The vision for COP28 is to focus on four paradigm shifts:

1. Fast-tracking the energy transition and slashing emissions before 2030.
2. Transforming climate finance, by delivering on old promises and setting the framework for a new deal on finance.
3. Putting nature, people, lives and livelihoods at the heart of climate action.
4. Mobilizing for the most inclusive COP ever.

AGENDA AND THEME OF COP28:

• This CoP, member states will negotiate while facing their first Global Stocktake (GST) – a scorecard analysing countries’ progress towards the Paris Agreement – so they can adapt their next climate action plans which are due in 2025.
• Parties will also seek to operationalise the loss and damages fund after developing nations proposed in September that developed countries should disperse at least $100bn to them by 2030.
• Fast-tracking the energy transition: revolves around renewable energy, and food and agricultural systems.
• Fixing climate finance : aims to prioritise the Global South in adaptation finance and help vulnerable communities rebuild after climate disasters, among other targets.
• Nature, people, lives, and livelihoods: geared towards food systems, nature-based solutions, and protecting against extreme weather events and biodiversity loss.
• Inclusivity in climate management: includes youth involvement and improved communication between different sectors and agencies.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BLUE ZONE AND GREEN ZONE OF COP28:

• BLUE ZONE : All of the official sessions, meetings, side events and press conferences are taking place in the “blue zone”, the formal conference and negotiation space managed by UN Climate Change. Only Party delegations, Heads of State, admitted observers and the accredited press can enter the blue zone.
• GREEN ZONE: Beyond the official UN-organized part of the conference, COP 28 is also a platform to showcase solutions and pathways from the global community and civil society.
• The “green zone”, managed by COP28’s host country of UAE, is a space for youth representatives, artists, businesses, regional and local decision-makers and many other civil society actors to discuss, present and exchange ideas and solutions for a net-zero future in a more informal setting – for example in the form of presentations, podium discussions, poster sessions and exhibitions.

ISSUES IN COP28:

• Governments need to agree on how to operationalize COP27’s main legacy: the loss and damage fund, set up as part of wider loss and damage funding arrangements.
• Many environmentalists and other analysts have raised concerns about COP28’s choice of president.
• Sultan al-Jaber, CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co, has been tasked with changing the world’s climate course while the company he heads is one of the world’s largest oil producers.
• Others have questioned the UNFCCC for involving the fossil fuel industry in its discussions and failing to generate sufficient progress towards the 1.5-degree goal.

WAY FORWARD:

• COP 28 must be a “can-do COP” where countries show how these tools will be put to work in the crucial next two years, to urgently pick up the pace.
• However, focusing on specific themes such as financing strategies must also be accompanied by a revamping of global structures to be effective across the world.

SOURCE: UNFCCC, WEF, AL JAZEERA