On November 30, the COP28 climate change conference began in Dubai, the most high-profile UN event in the field of the environment, which will last two weeks until December 12.
Even before the start of COP28, the UN recognized that the actions of world governments were still insufficient to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, including the main one of limiting the rise in global temperature to 1.5 °C.
“Governments collectively are not taking enough steps to prevent the climate crisis,” said UN climate change executive secretary Simon Still.
The UN expects COP28 to be a turning point, when countries must not only agree on what more intensive climate action will be taken, but also start showing exactly how to implement it. “Progress is too slow…Every fraction of a degree matters, but we are seriously off track,” Still said.
Modest successes confirm that visions of the common good alone will not get you far—economic incentives are needed to make climate action not only socially laudable, but also beneficial.
“Now is the time to demonstrate the enormous benefits of stronger climate action: more jobs, higher wages, economic growth, opportunity and stability, less pollution and better health,” the UN said in a release ahead of COP28.
Current long-term policies (representing the 75 parties to the Paris Agreement) account for 87% of global GDP, 68% of global population and about 77% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2019.
If implemented in a timely manner, greenhouse gas emissions in these countries could be approximately 63% lower in 2050 than in 2019.
United Arab Emirates hosts COP28 in Dubai. The country has consistently invested in global respectability by becoming the host of EXPO2020 (actually held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The Dubai government spent $35 billion on hosting the exhibition, and now operates this infrastructure: the actual venue for COP28 is the same EXPO area built from scratch for the event two years ago.
It should be noted that the choice of the country to host the climate summit was perceived ambiguously due to the active exploitation of oil and gas fields with a corresponding effect on the environment.
The Guardian newspaper reported that state-owned oil and gas fields in the UAE are burning gas (we are talking about t…. n. flaring of produced but not captured and not sold gas; process generates about 1–2% of total global greenhouse gas emissions) almost every day, despite committing to a zero routine flaring policy 20 years ago. The analysis assessed flaring at 32 oil and gas fields in the UAE, 20 of which are operated by state oil company Adnoc. The company categorically rejected these accusations.
Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Adnoc and President of COP28, will chair international negotiations to urgently address the climate crisis.
Background: The main goal of the Paris Agreement is to keep the global average temperature rise this century to well below 2°C and to intensify efforts to limit temperature rise further to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The ultimate goal of all agreements is to stabilize the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system, in a time frame that allows ecosystems to adapt naturally and ensure sustainable development.