ABU DHABI – The 28th
United Nations Climate Conference (COP28) is set to take place starting next Thursday in the United Arab
Emirates, with an unprecedented number of participants. It will be marked by
two major battles over financing the consequences of climate change and
abandoning fossil fuels, the excessive use of which by humanity leads to new
climate crises.
اضافة اعلان
According to Al-Mamlaka TV, more than 70,000 people, an
unprecedented number compared to previous
COP conferences, including Pope
Francis and King Charles III, will attend.
This includes a large gathering of heads of state,
governments, ministers, representatives of non-governmental organizations,
business owners, pressure groups, and journalists.
The international conference will commence on November 30
and continue until December 12, focusing on climate issues under the auspices
of the United Nations.
The conference will start with an opening ceremony on
November 30, followed by a two-day "Leaders' Summit," during which
around 140 heads of state and government will deliver speeches, leading to
approximately 10 days of discussions. The exact end date of the conference is
still tentative, as it is often extended by a day or two.
One highly anticipated decision from COP28, expected to be
officially adopted unanimously, concerns the first "assessment" of
the Paris Agreement on climate change reached in 2015. A technical report
published by the United Nations in September concluded, as expected, that
current climate efforts are insufficient, and it raises the issue of phasing
out fossil fuel sources.
However, around 200 countries will decide based on lessons
learned from this technical assessment. Dozens of countries aim to adopt an
explicit call to reduce the use of fossil fuels, a goal that none of the
previous climate conferences has successfully achieved.
The conference is expected to be crucial as it coincides
with what is projected to be the world's hottest year ever recorded in 2023,
exacerbating droughts, fires, floods, and other disasters.
The current climate commitments of countries worldwide are
far from sufficient, putting the world on a catastrophic warming path of
between 2.5 and 2.9 degrees Celsius during this century, according to recent
estimates by the United Nations.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged world leaders to
"double their efforts in an exceptional way, with record aspirations and
record steps and a record for emissions reduction."
Phasing out fossil fuels?
Several contentious issues will be addressed during the
conference, against the backdrop of international divisions over the Israeli
war on Gaza and the Ukrainian file.
Lola Vallejo, Director of the Climate Program at the
Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (Iddri) in
France, emphasized that if she had to remember two main things from this
Conference of the Parties (COP), they would be the issue of phasing out fossil
fuels and the issue of losses and damages.
Regarding fossil fuel sources, the main cause of climate
change, coal was mentioned for the first time in 2021 at COP26 in Glasgow, UK.
This year, the topic will be central, but the devil is in the details,
especially concerning the possible timeline for the gradual phase-out of fossil
fuels and the space allocated for controversial carbon capture technologies.
It's important to note that non-governmental organizations
are calling for commitments on fossil fuels in an "official decision"
issued by COP28, thus a binding text endorsed by the United Nations.
The UAE's presidency of the conference will intensify
"voluntary commitments" by tripling the use of renewable energy by
2030 in sectors such as nuclear, agriculture, health, and others. However,
these texts lack the binding force of a UN text adopted by all countries at the
conclusion of the conference.
Deep divisions
The will of the UAE presidency for the conference is to
engage parties with a large number of voluntary commitments. This is of great
concern because the COP is a global assessment conference, and therefore, it is
a conference for assuming responsibility, not a conference for voluntary
commitments.
Another issue that divides opinions is the "Loss and
Damage" climate fund for the most affected countries by climate change.
COP27, held last year in Egypt, recently approved the establishment of this
fund, against the backdrop of sharp tensions between northern and southern
countries.
In early November, a fragile settlement was reached to
temporarily establish the fund at the World Bank. However, crucial issues such
as the value of the funds, contributions, and beneficiary countries still need
to be resolved in Dubai.
These issues deepen the existing divisions in the world,
given the tense geopolitical situation. However, the Executive Director of the
United Nations Environment Programme, Inger Andersen, reminded us that there
can be no "break" in the climate issue.
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