Climate | ~ 3 min read
Countdown to COP 28
In just a few days, Dubai will host COP 28 – the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference. What’s on the agenda?
Since COP 27 delegates met in Sharm el-Sheikh last November, it has been a year of heatwaves, other extreme weather events and diverging global views on climate change. But there are positives to take forward into this year’s conference. There have been advances in energy efficiency and climate solutions, as well as targeted climate policies. Key agenda items for this year’s meeting include:
- Fossil fuels: Global government fossil fuel funding controversially reached 7.1% of global GDP in
20221 . Any pressure at COP 28 to redirect subsidies could be very significant for new carbon removal or storage technologies. - Healthcare: This is the first COP agenda to include health-ministerial meetings on increased climate-related health conditions and their social impacts.
- Trade: States’ divergence on climate policies and the tariff on carbon-intensive products imported by the European Union may encourage talks on the need for greater economic alignment to finance climate transition and achieve net zero goals.
- Natural capital: The COP 15 Global Biodiversity Framework agreement of 2022 has highlighted the urgency of protecting natural capital. COP 28 offers the potential to explore innovative approaches to this global challenge.
- Food security: Taking biodiversity issues further, there will be a day of COP 28 dedicated to food, agriculture and water. As the world faces sustained geopolitical uncertainty, we expect progress on food system transformation that enables a just transition to sustainable food security.
- Just transition: Climate impacts often affect the most vulnerable the hardest, and the Energy, Industry and Just Transition Day will explore ways to mitigate this impact. We look forward to learning which countries will show their support by joining the Just Energy Transition Partnerships, and hearing more on specific issues like the Loss and Damage fund announced in 2022.
Read our full article: COP 28 preview: taking the temperature and check back for our post-event analysis of these, and other, important climate issues.
1 International Monetary Fund, August 2023 Fossil Fuel Subsidies Surged to Record $7 Trillion (imf.org)