With the Conference of Parties entering its 28th session, it’s the UAE’s turn to play host this year. It is a historic moment for the country as it is just the second in the Middle East region to get an opportunity to present the event between November 30th and December 12th. The COP 28 confluence also coincides with UAE National Day, which falls on December 2nd. A congregation of 80,000 delegates and 140 heads of government are deemed to attend the event at the famous Dubai Expo City.
Why is COP 28 UAE different?
We all know that the conference, every time, revolves around accelerating climate action and forging towards a Net Zero Future. While the Paris Agreement stands as the crux of COP 28 UAE, it is meant to be different this year. Several stakeholders were consulted to identify the connection between the action areas and the climatic conditions. The summit addresses these actionable items through ‘real world’ sectors where the pillars outlined in the Paris Agreement may apply. With constructive feedback from the stakeholders, the two final days are coined as no thematic days, where the meeting will eliminate extensive programming as the negotiation text closes.
Simultaneously, the government is also taking initiatives to restructure the economy so that renewable energy resources, technological development and intelligent climate solutions are laid out in the UAE’s COP 28 agenda. The conference’s main topic will focus on economic justification following broad-based climatic action.
At the outset, it’s an honour that the UAE wears proudly to recognise the nation’s environmental endeavours undertaken over the past three decades. Ratifying the Vienna Convention for protecting the ozone layer in 1989, the country committed itself to battling climate change and became a member of the coveted UNFCCC in 1995.
COP 28 UAE Agenda
In November 2023, the world will see the following actionable steps taken by the UAE:
The COP 27 transitional committee will suggest operationalising the Loss and Damage Agreement Fund, helping low-income countries combat the ramifications of climate change.
With high-income countries not meeting the COP 15 goal of $100 billion in spending for adaptation funding and COP 27 failing to make any advancements in the area, COP 28 create a framework to seek adaptation globally.
According to the CAF report, commissioned by 20 major economies, the World Bank must play a more prominent role in climate change. The same is being endorsed by other stakeholders too.
Countries such as Indonesia, South Africa and Vietnam are being helped by JETPs or Just Energy Transition Partnerships to stop dependency on coal and move to greener energy sources.
At least three things – finding gaps and assessing people’s capabilities in handling early warning systems, pushing forward with such an implementation and finally, making sure that finance is scaled up – will take priority in 2023. These developments will be reported at COP 28.
The Global Stocktake that began at Cop 26 will conclude at COP 28. This happens every five years, and currently, in its second phase, technical assessments will be conducted revolving around three themes: mitigation, adaptation, implementation & support.
Framework for the Global Goal on Adaptation, implemented under the Paris Agreement at COP 27, will be discussed before COP 28 to be adopted in November.
At COP 28, the value of aquatic life and the value of the ocean will be discussed, and as part of its Nat-Zero policy, UAE has already taken steps to improve salt marshes, seagrasses and mangroves.
Event Registration
You can obtain pavilions at the COP 28 conference up until June 15th 2023 11:59 PM GMT +4. Reach out to https://www.cop28.com/en/blue-zone-eoi for more.
