What Can We Expect From COP28, And What Must Happen? | Earth.Org

Navigating Global Climate Action: The High-Stakes Dynamics of COP28 in Dubai

The United Nations Conference of the Parties, more commonly referred to as COP, is a crucial annual meeting where all states that are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) convene to review national strategies and emission inventories and assess the progress of Parties in meeting the Convention’s objective to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system, with the COP Presidency and session venues rotating among UN regions. This year, the conference will take place in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), one of the world’s largest oil producers and a major OPEC exporter.

COP28 President’s Dual Roles Stir Controversy

The appointment of Sultan al-Jaber as the president of COP28 has sparked significant criticism and concerns over potential conflicts of interest. Al-Jaber is the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the largest national drilling company in the Middle East by rig fleet size. The company plans to allocate a substantial $150 billion investment over the next five years, primarily focused on expanding its output. ADNOC currently produces 2.7 million barrels of oil daily but aims to increase this to five million barrels by 2027.

In addition to leading ADNOC, Al-Jaber is also the founder of Masdar, a clean energy firm that has allocated billions of dollars to zero-emissions energy technologies in over 40 nations. Masdar has concentrated its investments in solar and wind power projects, resulting in a combined capacity of 15 gigawatts, enough to offset over 19 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The company has set ambitious targets to expand its capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2030, with further plans to double this capacity in the future.

Amid resurgent global fossil fuel investment, Al-Jaber advocates for increased participation of fossil fuel companies in climate discussions and attributes the lack of progress in past climate summits to the contentious relationship between climate advocates and the fossil fuel industry. While some support his approach, many climate advocates and lawmakers criticize it, citing the fossil fuel industry’s historical resistance to climate action. In May 2023, a group of 133 US Senators and European Union lawmakers issued a joint statement to demand his replacement.

Emission Reduction Challenges

The COP28 presidency, along with two prominent renewable energy organizations, is urging governments to significantly amplify their efforts in the renewable energy sector.

According to a joint report published in October 2023 by the UAE presidency, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and the Global Renewables Alliance, the goal is to triple global renewable energy capacity, aiming to surpass 11,000 GW by 2030. Although many major economies, including the Group of 20 (G20), have already committed to pursuing this goal, some, notably the EU and countries highly susceptible to the impacts of climate change, assert that an emphasis on clean energy expansion alone is insufficient without firm commitments to phase out fossil fuels.

A recent UN report underscores governments’ failure to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the critical need to phase out all unabated fossil fuels. With a rapidly closing window to limit temperature rises to 1.5C, the report highlights a significant gap between necessary emissions cuts and the current trajectory.

“The problem is not simply fossil fuel emissions. It’s fossil fuels – period,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in June, adding that they are “incompatible with human survival.”

Guterres also attacked carbon capture technology, defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as “anthropogenic activities that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it durably in geological, terrestrial, or ocean reservoirs, or in products.” He said that any attempt to justify the fossil fuel expansion with carbon capture and storage technologies only makes companies “more efficient planet wreckers.”

The only feasible solution, he argues, is to phase out fossil fuels completely and instead reinvest the industry’s massive profits in renewables and the green economy.

Countries’ Positions at COP28

Last month, the EU solidified its stance ahead of the UN’s COP28 climate conference. The bloc seeks an unprecedented global agreement to phase out unabated fossil fuel consumption, positioning itself as a vanguard in the fight against climate change. Nevertheless, there exists a divergence of opinions among EU Member States, with some nations advocating for a phase-out of all fossil fuels while others – including Italy – propose using carbon capture technology to mitigate emissions.

In their most recent meeting in New Delhi, G20 leaders – including the European Union – failed to address some of the most critical aspects of slowing down climate change, including setting a timeline to phase out planet-warming fossil fuels.

The 27-bloc also emphasizes the necessity of discontinuing ineffective fossil fuel subsidies – which last year reached a total of US$7 trillion globally – and ceasing the construction of new coal-powered plants. While this standpoint has garnered support, it has also faced opposition, illustrating the ongoing global tension between nations apprehensive about the economic repercussions of reducing fossil fuel usage and those fervently championing urgent climate action.

Despite their professed good intentions and pledges, wealthy nations continue to steer in the opposite direction by providing substantial support to the fossil fuel industry. According to a recent report, G20 countries’ investments in the fossil fuel industry reached a record US$1.4 trillion last year, more than double the pre-pandemic and pre-energy crisis levels of 2019, a new report has found. Approximately three-quarters of all subsidies to the energy sector went to coal, oil, and gas. About $1 trillion worth of subsidies were aimed at consumers in a bid to protect them against the 2022 energy price crisis brought about by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which the authors blame for “catapult[ing] public financial support for fossil fuels to new levels.”

Calls for Equitable Climate Finance Amidst Delayed Funding

Developing nations continue facing the stark reality of delayed climate funding from major economies like the United States and China. Climate-fueled disasters are on the rise, with a recent UN report emphasizing the urgent need for increased financing to combat global warming. Despite pledges made at the Copenhagen climate talks, many funding initiatives have encountered delays and uncertainty.

Several points remain to be settled in Dubai, including the still-unmet $100 billion pledge made by rich nations in 2009, which was supposed to be delivered by 2020, as well as the Loss and Damage Fund, a historic deal reached at last year’s UN climate summit, COP27.

The Loss and Damage Fund

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

– Target 7.2: By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

– Indicator: Renewable energy capacity (mentioned in the article as the goal to triple global renewable energy capacity to surpass 11,000 GW by 2030)

SDG 13: Climate Action

– Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.

– Indicator: Climate-fueled disasters and their impacts (mentioned in the article as the urgent need for increased financing to combat global warming)

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

– Target 17.2: Enhance global macroeconomic stability, including through policy coordination and policy coherence.

– Indicator: Climate finance and funding initiatives (mentioned in the article as the delayed climate funding and financing struggles experienced by developing nations)

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Behold! This splendid article springs forth from the wellspring of knowledge, shaped by a wondrous proprietary AI technology that delved into a vast ocean of data, illuminating the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Remember that all rights are reserved by SDG Investors LLC, empowering us to champion progress together.

Source: earth.org

Join us, as fellow seekers of change, on a transformative journey at https://sdgtalks.ai/welcome, where you can become a member and actively contribute to shaping a brighter future.