COP28 - What to expect?

There are only six months to go until COP28. The conference in being held in November in Dubai this time. The progress has been slow and the targets are still far from being achieved. But what can be expected from the UN Climate Change Conference this time?

The main focus will definitely be on finances. And everything else will be lined to climate finance. Back in COP27, countries had agreed to set up a fund for the developing nations that are facing the adverse impacts of climate change as compensation for damage caused by climate change. COP28 would most likely include further details of who pays, how it is operated, etc. Moreover, climate finance target as promised and pledged under in 2009 for $100 billion still remains unmet.

A key question at COP28 will also be whether the world has been keeping its promises made at COP26 – COP28 will include stocktake. A slew of commitments were made at COP26, and it was decided under the 2015 Paris Agreement that the first stocktake will begin at COP26 and will conclude at COP28. A stocktake is a two-year assessment every five years of how countries are performing against their pledges to meet the deal made in 2015 under the Paris Agreement. The results don’t look very promising as the progress has been slow and jittery due to geopolitical unrests, economic turmoil and commodity crises.

Then, adaptation will also be a key focus area. Back in COP27, the countries had agreed to establish a framework for achieving the Global Goal of Adaptation set under the Paris Agreement with the aim of collective action. The framework that was decided upon will most likely be discussed. Climate finance is split between mitigation (e.g. investing in renewable energy), and adaptation. The latter, which is most pressing and immediate issue in low income countries has been neglected relatively.

Also, COP27 pushed up agriculture as a factor in global emissions and included a 4-year plan on food security and agriculture. Actionable discussions on the roadmap to reduce emissions from the agriculture systems are also expected at COP28

One thing is important: The UN Climate Change Conference should see a move from negotiation to action as time is running out!