Unveiling COP28: Key Insights into the Global Climate Summit
The 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) concluded on December 12, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The two-week summit garnered over 60,000 attendees, including delegates from 198 countries, industry leaders, youth activists, indigenous communities, journalists, and other stakeholders. COP28 was widely regarded as a critical moment for global climate action, as it marked the end of the first-ever Global Stocktake, a process to assess the world’s collective progress toward addressing the climate crisis and to identify what is required to overcome it. Here are some of the key outcomes, challenges, and innovations that emerged from COP28.
Key Agreements:
Global Stocktake
The Global Stocktake synthesis report, released in September 2023, revealed that the world is far off track from its goal of holding global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, as agreed in the Paris Agreement in 2015. The report showed that current national climate plans would only achieve an 8% reduction in emissions by 2030, compared to 2019 levels, while the science indicates that a 43% reduction is needed to avoid some of the worst impacts of climate change. The report also highlighted the gaps in adaptation, resilience, and climate finance, as well as the uneven distribution of the costs and benefits of climate action. At COP28, countries discussed the results of the Global Stocktake and adopted a decision that calls for urgent and ambitious action to close the gaps and enhance cooperation. The decision also sets out the modalities and timeline for the next Global Stocktake, which will take place in 2028.
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Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
NDCs are the plans that each country submits to the UNFCCC, outlining their commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Under the Paris Agreement, countries are expected to update and enhance their NDCs every five years, starting from 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries delayed or failed to submit their updated NDCs by the deadline of COP26 in 2022. At COP28, countries were urged to submit their revised NDCs as soon as possible and to ensure that they are aligned with the 1.5°C goal and reflect their highest possible ambition. According to the UNFCCC, as of December 2021, only 124 parties had submitted their new or updated NDCs, covering 44% of global emissions. Some of the countries that announced new or enhanced NDCs at COP28 include China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia.
Climate Finance:
Climate finance refers to the financial flows that support climate action in developing countries, such as mitigation, adaptation, technology transfer, and capacity building. Developed countries have committed to mobilizing $100 billion per year by 2020 to support developing countries, but this target has not been remotely met. According to the 2021 Biennial Assessment and Overview of Climate Finance Flows, published by the UNFCCC Standing Committee on Finance, the average annual climate finance provided and mobilized by developed countries in 2017-2018 was $79.6 billion, an increase of 11% from 2015-2016. However, the report also noted that the share of adaptation finance remained low, at 21% of the total, and that there was a lack of transparency and consistency in reporting and tracking climate finance. At COP28, developed countries were urged to fulfill their climate finance commitments and to increase their support for adaptation and resilience, especially for the most vulnerable countries and communities. The COP28 decision also launched a process to set a new collective quantified goal on climate finance for the post-2025 period, based on the needs and priorities of developing countries.
Key Challenges:
Fossil Fuels
Fossil fuels are the largest culprit affecting climate change, responsible for almost 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions. However, they also provide energy security, economic growth, and social development for many countries and regions. Consequently, phasing out fossil fuels and transitioning to renewable energy sources poses significant challenges and trade-offs for both developed and developing countries.
At COP28, several countries and groups expressed their concerns and reservations about the implications of a rapid and equitable shift away from fossil fuels. For example, the Group of 77 and China, which represents 134 developing countries, stressed the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, and the need for enhanced support and flexibility for developing countries to implement their climate actions.
Some of the major fossil fuel producers and exporters, such as Australia, Russia, and the Gulf Cooperation Council, also highlighted the importance of ensuring a just transition that takes into account the social and economic impacts on their workers and communities. Moreover, some countries, such as Japan, South Korea, and Canada, faced criticism for continuing to finance and support fossil fuel projects abroad, despite their domestic pledges to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
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– Loss and Damage:
Loss and damage refer to the adverse effects of climate change that go beyond the limits of adaptation, such as extreme weather events, slow onset events, and non-economic losses. Developing countries, especially the small island developing states and the least developed countries, have been calling for more recognition and support for addressing loss and damage, as they are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change. However, developed countries have been reluctant to accept any legal or financial liability for loss and damage, and have preferred to focus on adaptation and resilience. At COP28, the issue of loss and damage was one of the most contentious and unresolved topics, as parties could not agree on the operationalization and resourcing of the Santiago Network on Loss and Damage, which was established at COP25 in 2019 to facilitate technical assistance and knowledge sharing on loss and damage. The COP28 decision only reaffirmed the importance of the Santiago Network and requested the UNFCCC secretariat to report on its progress at COP29 in 2024.
Controversies:
A controversy over COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber’s remarks on the science of fossil fuels, which he later clarified and defended at a press conference.
Key Innovations:
Nature-based Solutions
Nature-based solutions are actions that protect, restore, and manage natural and modified ecosystems to address societal challenges, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, food security, and human health. Nature-based solutions can provide multiple benefits, such as enhancing carbon sinks, reducing emissions, increasing resilience, supporting livelihoods, and conserving biodiversity.
At COP28, nature-based solutions received significant attention and support from various stakeholders, as they offer cost-effective and holistic approaches to tackling the climate crisis. For example, the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, a group of over 70 countries, launched the Nature Positive 2030 initiative, which aims to protect at least 30% of the planet’s land and ocean by 2030, restore 20% of degraded ecosystems by 2030, and mobilize $500 billion per year for nature-based solutions by 2025. Several other initiatives and partnerships on nature-based solutions were also announced at COP28, such as the Global Mangrove Alliance, the Global Peatlands Initiative, the Global Forest Goals, and the One Trillion Trees Initiative.
Digital Technologies
Digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, and the Internet of Things, can play a key role in accelerating and enhancing climate action, by improving data collection and analysis, enabling transparency and accountability, facilitating innovation and collaboration, and empowering citizens and communities.
At COP28, several examples and applications of digital technologies for climate action were showcased and discussed, such as the Climate Chain Coalition, a network of over 300 organizations that use blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies to support climate action; the Climate TRACE Coalition, a group of tech companies and NGOs that use satellite imagery and machine learning to track and verify greenhouse gas emissions from various sectors and sources; the Climate Action Engine, a platform that uses big data and analytics to provide actionable insights and solutions for climate mitigation and adaptation; and the Climate Action Map, a tool that uses geospatial data and visualization to map and monitor the climate actions and commitments of countries, cities, companies, and other actors.
Ultimately, with all the agreements, challenges, controversies, innovations, and pledges that have emerged during the COP28 varying from phasing out of fossil fuels to stocktake, and the zero emission pledges, it is clear that there is a lot of work ahead to resolve the global climate crisis.
