2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference


The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly known as COP28, was the 28th United Nations Climate Change conference, held from 30 November to 13 December at Expo City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The COP conference has been held annually since the first UN climate agreement in 1992. The event is intended for governments to agree on policies to limit global temperature rises and adapt to impacts associated with climate change.
The conference was originally scheduled to end on 12 December, but had to be extended following Saudi objections on the final agreement. On 13 December, the conference president, Sultan Al Jaber announced that a final compromise agreement between the countries involved had been reached. The deal commits all signatory countries to move away from carbon energy sources "in a just, orderly and equitable manner" to mitigate the worst effects of climate change, and reach net zero by the year 2050. The global pact, referred to as the UAE Consensus, was the first in the history of COP summits to explicitly mention the need to shift away from every type of fossil fuels, but it still received widespread criticism due to the lack of a clear commitment to either fossil fuel phase-out or phase-down. China and India did not sign the pledge to triple their output of renewable energy and committed to coal power instead.
The conference was widely criticised for its controversial president Sultan Al Jaber, as well as its host country, the United Arab Emirates, which is known for its opaque environmental record and role as a major producer of fossil fuels. Al Jaber is the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, leading to concerns over conflict of interest. Claims of greenwashing of Al Jaber on Wikipedia, Twitter and Medium; the legal inability to criticise Emirati corporations in the UAE; alleged covert access to conference emails by ADNOC; and the invitation of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad have all raised concerns regarding the integrity of the conference. Al Jaber stated before the beginning of the conference that there was "no science" behind fossil fuel phase-out in achieving 1.5 °C; and leaked documents appeared to show the UAE planned to use the conference to strike new fossil fuel deals with other nations. Al Jaber claimed that his comments on the phase-out of fossil fuels were "misinterpreted" and denied the latter allegation, asserting that the UAE does not need the COP presidency to establish business deals.

Background

Host city

The United Nations Climate Change Conference is an annual conference of all countries that have signed the 1994 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It is held annually, with the host countries rotating among its current members. In early 2021, the United Arab Emirates offered to host the 2023 event. Dubai was chosen as the host city in November of the same year. It was the third time it was hosted by a member of OPEC after Indonesia in 2007 and the then member Qatar in 2012.
The United Arab Emirates is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, due to its very hot and humid climate. Its average air temperature has risen by 1.27 °C between 1990 and 2022. The Red Sea and Persian Gulf have exceeded safe wet-bulb temperature thresholds several times. Other impacts felt in the region are more frequent dust storms, sea level rise and drought. The UAE has committed to reducing carbon emissions to net zero by 2050; the first Middle Eastern government to make such a pledge. It was also the first country in the region to sign the Paris Agreement on 21 September 2016. The country has invested $50 billion into clean energy internationally and promised an additional $50 billion by 2030.

Reception

The choice of the UAE as host country was criticized by many climate scientists and human rights advocates around the globe, as the country is both a leading oil producer and an authoritarian state without freedom of speech. The Emirati organisers warned speakers not to criticise Islam or the Emirati government, corporations or individuals. Human Rights Watch urged governments to use the opportunity to push the UAE to ease the "grip on civic space and uphold rights" and end the persecution of human rights activists like Ahmed Mansoor. On 1 August 2023, the UAE allowed environmental activists to "assemble peacefully" at the summit and vowed to provide them a space to "make their voices heard", despite laws that prohibit unauthorised protests.
The UAE's appointment of Sultan Al Jaber president of caused further controversy, as he is also the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. In February 2023, one month after Al Jaber's selection, the company announced plans to expand drilling for fossil fuels. More than 100 members of the European Parliament, U.S. senators and U.S. representatives signed a joint open letter calling on the UAE to withdraw Al Jaber's appointment. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry acknowledged Al Jaber's selection as COP president was "risky", but nonetheless supported it, arguing it was important to have fossil fuel producers at the table.
In June 2023, a report by The Guardian revealed that ADNOC shared an email server with COP28 and was able to read emails to and from the climate summit office. The COP28 office switch to a different server following The Guardians inquiry.

Preparations

In the months leading up to the summit, joint preparations were held by the United States of America, China and the European Union. The climate envoys of the U.S., China and the EU met regularly to discuss priorities and planning. On 15 November, the U.S. and China announced an agreement to triple global renewable energy use by 2030. The agreement included a commitment to addressing greenhouse gases, but was criticised for not including a commitment from China to phase out coal-fired power plants. Insiders cautiously expressed hope for a climate agreement between China and the United States ahead of the conference, similar to the agreement of 2014 that paved the way for the Paris Agreement. China published a plan to reduce methane emissions ahead of the conference, but there was expected contention on coal use in China. China characterises coal as essential for its energy security, although others say energy security could be improved through upgrades to the energy grid and domestic energy market. Talks between Janet Yellen and He Lifeng yielded a decision to enhance cooperation between the countries on climate related issues and much was expected from the meeting between President of the United States Joe Biden and General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping later in the month at the 2023 APEC summit.
At the end of November 2023, a pre-COP meeting of ministers was held. One hundred delegations and 70 ministers attended, more than any prior pre-COP meeting. The general director of the COP, Majid al-Suwaidi, insisted the conference would fulfill the commitment to create a loss and damage fund, as was agreed at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference.
The UAE had initially invited the president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, to COP28, resulting in widespread condemnation. Assad ultimately did not come, sending his prime minister Hussein Arnous instead.
Ahead of the summit, the Muslim Council of Elders, in partnership with the COP28 Presidency, the UN Environment Programme and the Catholic Church, and under the patronage of the UAE's president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, organised a Global Faith Leaders Summit convening 28 faith leaders to address climate change.

Global stocktake

In September 2023, in advance of the opening of COP28, the United Nations published the first two-year assessment of global progress in slowing down climate change, called the "global stocktake". This type of overview was established during the 2021 COP26 in Glasgow and is scheduled to be repeated every five years. The report concluded that a phase-out of fossil fuels is needed, something that the United Nations had previously avoided saying. Among the 17 key findings of the report are:
  • The Paris Agreement and the resulting climate action significantly helped in reducing emissions. In 2011 the projected warming by 2100 was 3.7–4.8 °C. After COP27 it was 2.4–2.6 °C and in the best case, if all pledges are accomplished, 1.7–2.1 °C.
  • As of September 2023, the world is not on track to reach the targets of the Paris Agreement. For having a more than 50% chance of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 °C and more than 67% chance of limiting it to 2 °C, global emissions must peak by the year 2025.
  • Trillions of dollars are needed for limiting warming to 1.5 °C.
  • More effective international cooperation and collaboration are crucial for reaching the targets of the Paris Agreement.

    Expectations

, head of the International Energy Agency, expressed hope for significant achievements at the summit but noted: " geopolitical situation, with many nations at loggerheads over the war in Ukraine, and still frosty relations between the U.S. and China, would make for a difficult summit The most important challenge is the lack of international cooperation." The climate envoy from Bangladesh described the lack of global solidarity as the main obstacle to stopping climate change, emphasising the need to create a loss and damage fund. Governments expressed concern that similar to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the 2023 Gaza war may adversely impact negotiations at COP28.
Before the conference, Pope Francis issued an apostolic exhortation called Laudate Deum, calling for brisk action against the climate crisis and condemning climate change denial. The Pope planned to attend the conference, which would have marked the first papal visit to a United UN Climate Change conference, but had to pull out due to ill health. United States president Joe Biden did not attend, with the Gaza war and internal U.S. government spending difficulties being cited as possible causes.
According to Professor Alon Tal, a renowned scholar of climate change issues, "There was no compelling reason to believe that the 2023 UN climate gathering would be any different than its predecessor and that significant progress would be made. As November approached, the prospects for the annual UN climate conference were hardly promising. In thirty years of global climate diplomacy, never had the lead-up to a UN environmental gathering been mired in such political controversy: COP28 was convened in Dubai, a symbol of the world's oil economy."