Anthesis will be appearing at COP28 and will be providing guidance and insights in the build up to this years’ conference through this page.
COP 28 in the UAE
The 28th Conference of Parties (COP 28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will be hosted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for 2023. The event will take place at the Dubai Expo City from November 30 to December 12, with more than 80,000 delegates, including 140 heads of state and government, and over 5,000 media professionals expected to attend.
Early indications of the theme of this years’ conference suggest it will likely focus on the economic case for inclusive climate action. This decision reflects continuing progress made in the UAE to transition its economy to one that relies on clean and renewable energy, technological innovations, and climate-smart solutions.
Climate progress in the UAE
Climate action in the UAE has a dynamic history. With an oil-rich geography, the UAE has been at the forefront of various conversations about routes towards decarbonisation whilst balancing economic productivity.
That being said, the UAE has been a staple part of climate dialogues for over 30 years, having ratified Vienna Convention for the protection of the Ozone layer in 1989, joined UNFCCC in 1995, ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2005, joined the Paris agreement in 2015, and have set a Net Zero pledge for 2050.
Green initiatives have continued to take precedence in the national direction through UAE Green Growth Agenda launched in 2012. UAE has also targeted initiatives around Agriculture, Methane pledge, and supporting lower income countries transition to renewable energy as part of its climate actions. The UAE is also home to the first large-scale carbon capture facility.
“Nothing that happened at COP 27 will diffuse the mounting pressure on countries to demonstrate at COP 28 in Dubai that they will take immediate and decisive action to keep the goals of the Paris Agreement within reach.“
Pete Ogden
Vice President for Climate and Environment UN Foundation
What happened at COP 27?
At last years’ COP held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, countries agreed to develop new funding arrangements that can mobilise resources to help developing economies suffering from the impacts of climate change. Countries successfully negotiated a long-sought agreement to establish a suite of funding arrangements, including a new “loss and damage” facility to help compensate developing economies suffering from the devastating effects of climate change.
What to watch for at COP 28
One space to watch closely will be the Global Stocktake, which is mandated under the Paris Agreement to take place every five years. Starting in 2022, this Stocktake is used to evaluate implementation progress against the goals of the agreement and will culminate at COP 28.
Countries have also set important deadlines to establish a new global goal on adaptation by COP 28, as well as to make progress and deliver on a number of existing climate finance commitments.
