Here’s everything that happened at the COP28
The 28th UN Conference of the Parties, the year’s most significant climate meeting, came to a close. COP28 was one of the most contentious meetings in history, hosted by a petrostate, directed by an oil executive, and attended by an unprecedented number of fossil fuel lobbyists.
After more than two weeks of heated discussions, governments eventually agreed on an extraordinary agreement that addresses climate financing, adaptation, food security, gender, and, most critically, calls for a “transition” away from fossil fuels for the first time. But there’s a lot more to it than that.
Unfolding the Key Aspects Achieved at COP28
Global Stocktake
As outlined in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, COP28 established a historic precedent by conducting the first Global Stocktake (GST), a thorough evaluation of nations’ progress toward their climate targets. The GST, seen as the most important outcome of COP28, contains all topics that were negotiated and may now serve as a framework for governments to improve their climate action plans, which are required by 2025.
Recognizing scientific evidence indicating the need for a 43% reduction in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 compared to 2019 levels to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the stocktake emphasizes that Parties are presently falling thin of the targets laid out in the 2015 Paris Accord and encourages them to take focused global action in order to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency improvements by 2030.
In terms of much-needed adaptation measures to global warming, the final COP28 agreement mandates governments to present a national adaptation plan by 2030 – 51 countries have already done so.
Fossil Fuels
This year, worldwide fossil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are expected to reach a record high of 36.8 billion tons, a 1.1% rise over 2022 levels and a 1.4% increase over pre-pandemic levels.
The US, the COP’s host UAE, the Czech Republic, Kosovo, Cyprus, Norway, the Dominican Republic, and Iceland have joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance, a large group of nations, sub-national governments, businesses, and organizations that pledged to phase out “unabated” coal power two years ago at the Glasgow COP26.
Colombia made history by being the first Latin American country and the largest producer of fossil fuels to sign up to the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Methane
The largest pledge came from 50 oil and gas corporations, including ExxonMobil, Saudi Aramco, Adnoc, ConocoPhillips, and BP, who signed the Oil and Gas Decarbonisation Charter, which was supported by the COP28 chair.
The World Bank also launched a multi-donor trust fund with an initial US$250 million in funding to assist poor countries in reducing CO2 and methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.
The Bank also stated that it plans to start at least 15 country-led projects over the next 18 months with the goal of reducing up to 10 million tons of methane emissions.
Loss and Damage
Delegates from over 200 nations agreed to a framework for the Loss and Damage Fund established at COP27 to assist developing countries in dealing with the devastation caused by global warming on the first day of COP28.
However, critics pointed out that contributions to the Fund account for less than 0.2% of the economic and non-economic losses that developing countries face each year as a result of global warming, putting pressure on developed countries to increase their contributions and make further pledges in accordance with their past accountability for loss and damage.
Climate and Finance
According to the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) 2017 State of financing for environment Report, financing flows to activities that directly harm environment were more than 30 times than overall investments in nature-based solutions last year, which amounted to roughly US$200 billion.
US Vice President Kamala Harris said that the Biden-Harris Administration will contribute an additional $3 billion to the United Nations Green Climate Fund, which was established in 2010 to encourage climate action in developing nations.
The UAE will invest $30 billion in Alterra, a profit-seeking climate financing firm that “plans to buy shares in green companies and make money when their share prices rise and dividends are paid.”
Food and Agriculture
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) established the first Global Roadmap to 1.5C for food systems. It establishes objectives and timetables for eleven sectors that require immediate attention, such as livestock, soil and water, and food loss and waste.
Finally, Brazil, Cambodia, Norway, Sierra Leone, and Rwanda agreed to form the Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation (ACF), a coalition aimed at transforming national food systems to provide universal access to affordable, nutritious, and sustainable diets.
Conclusion: Towards COP29
Following days of tense deliberations, delegates this week chose Baka, Azerbaijan’s capital, to host next year’s climate talks.
According to UN norms, it was Eastern Europe’s time to assume the COP chairmanship, but a unanimous vote was necessary. Due to Russia’s veto on all EU countries, delegates were left with only a few possibilities, however not all towns on the list had the money or infrastructure required to hold a conference that attracts tens of thousands of people each year. While Azerbaijan and Armenia first vetoed each other’s bids, Armenia subsequently withdrew its offer and endorsed Azerbaijan.
