COP28: Controversy and Key Takeaways

After thirteen days of negotiations and talks between 154 heads of state and over 85,000 other participants at the international climate summit, some celebrate, while others reproach.  

Opening Ceremony of World Leaders Summit at COP28 | Maldives President's Office (Wikimedia Commons) 

The COP28, otherwise known as the 28th Conference of Parties, was held late last year at Expo City in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates from November 30th to December 12th. This annual conference is linked to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) created in 1992, and includes the participation of its signatory member states, which meet to review progress towards limiting climate change, and at times establishing treaties and agreements from these discussions.

On the surface level COP28 seems advantageous as it revolves around discussing climate change issues, which is a topic becoming continuously more relevant for most in current times, with 2023 being the hottest year in recorded history. However, many were disillusioned by the conference even prior to its start in November, and generating a further rise in criticism after its completion, with climate activist Greta Thunberg claiming the climate deals made were a “stab in the back”.

What were the key takeaways of the conference?

The main deal that was striked between all the countries was the ‘transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems’, which is a first deal of its kind established in all the years of the COP. All countries agreed to aim at reducing global consumption of fossil fuels and adopt measures that aid this reduction, including more production of clean energy, in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change. The United Nations claims this as the beginning of a just and equitable end of the fossil fuel era, through increased financial funding and deeper emission cuts.

Additionally, Parties reached an agreement on the operationalization of the loss and damage fund and funding arrangements, with financial commitments currently at USD 700 million to date. This agreement serves a purpose to assist developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change in responding to economic and non economic losses and damage associated with adverse effects of climate change.

Amongst replenishments of funding, shared expert opinion panels, and creation of several commitments, the final key takeaway of the conference was its pledge to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030. While this is ambitious, according to some experts it is doable.

So, why was and is COP28 controversial? 

The COP28 being located in the United Arab Emirates this year, with the president of COP28 - Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber- being head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, had many climate activists disillusioned by this summit, as the UAE is one of the world’s top oil producing nations. Especially so, with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company being expected to expand its production within this decade, and rumours circulating that some would use the summit to strike fossil fuel business deals.

Furthermore, the main deal itself, while it does show a degree of a globally united initiative to cut fossil fuel use, it does not guide countries to actively try prevent the 1.5 degree celsius rise, which scientists say will trigger continuous and irreversible catastrophic effects around the globe, especially to countries that contribute least to climate change. Scientists and activists believe that the summit did not present the urgency of its core topic, nor the urgency of how numerous states are lagging behind their set goals and promises in regards to cutting emissions or developing climate change mitigation frameworks.

While the countries with larger emissions walk out of the conference with pride about the agreement, smaller states who are most affected by climate change such as Fiji, Tuvalu and Kiribati say the agreement contains many loopholes, and was rather “incremental and not transformational”. 

Two of the world’s largest emitters, China and the USA, walked away from the summit with only an extra few burdens. China is still allowed to continue building coal power plants and walked away not having to pay into the climate fund falling back on its international status of being a ‘developing country’, while the USA pledged only 17.5  million dollars in new financing for countries vulnerable and most affected by climate change through the loss and damage fund. This value is highly disproportionate to the nation’s amount of emissions and  in comparison to the pledged amounts of other funding states. For reference, Germany pledged to provide 109 million dollars, the United Kingdom pledged 50 million dollars, and Japan 10 million dollars. All aforementioned countries have significantly lower levels of emissions than the United States.

In general, the conclusions made at the COP can be better viewed as a general framework for national governments to develop their own climate change mitigation and adaptation measures, from a bottom up national approach, rather from a top down supranational approach. Ultimately, it is in the hands of national governments, their funding and the implementation of strategies, to create a more sustainable, renewable and safe environment for its citizens and the rest of the planet. 

References

Poynting, Mark. “What Is COP28 in Dubai and Why Is It Important?” BBC News, 13 Dec. 2023,. www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67143989.

Watts, Jonathan. “Cop28’S Winners and Losers: From Fossil Fuel Firms to Future Generations.” The Guardian, 14 Dec. 2023, www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/14/cop28-winners-and-losers-fossil-fuel-climate-crisis.

Friedman, Lisa. “What Is COP28? And Other Questions about the Big U.N. Climate Summit.” The New York Times,. 4 Dec, 2023. www.nytimes.com/article/cop28-climate-change-summit.html.

“COP28 UAE | What Is COP.”. COP28,. United Nations Climate Change, www.cop28.com/en/what-is-cop.

Staff, Carbon Brief. “COP28: Key Outcomes Agreed at the UN Climate Talks in Dubai.” Carbon Brief, 13 Dec. 2023, www.carbonbrief.org/cop28-key-outcomes-agreed-at-the-un-climate-talks-in-dubai/.

Manann Donoghoe et al.  “The Successes and Failures of COP28.” Brookings, 14 Dec. 2023,. www.brookings.edu/articles/the-successes-and-failures-of-cop28/.

United Nations Climate Change. “COP28 Agreement Signals ‘Beginning of the End’ of the Fossil Fuel Era.” United Nations Climate Change.  United Nations.  2023.  unfccc.int/news/cop28-agreement-signals-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-fossil-fuel-era.

Maslin, Mark et al.  “What Were the Key Outcomes of COP28?” World Economic Forum. 20 Dec. 202,.  www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/12/cop28-key-outcomes-un-climate-summit/.

“COP28 Climate Deal ‘Stab in the Back’, Activist Greta Thunberg Says.” Reuters, 15 Dec. 2023, www.reuters.com/business/environment/cop28-climate-deal-stab-back-activist-greta-thunberg-says-2023-12-15/.