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The COP28 climate summit in Dubai is a time of intense deliberations. After the first week, participants made significant progress on climate action. The meeting raised more than $57 billion. This funding will play a key role in meeting global environmental goals and will be a major step forward in efforts to protect our planet. Decisions made at the summit and discussions that will continue until December 12 herald further initiatives and solutions.
Declaration on food and agriculture
At a special session of the Climate Action Summit (WCAS) held at COP28 on December 1, leaders of 134 countries around the world signed a declaration committing $2.5 billion. for ensuring food security. As highlighted by Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, the Minister of Economic Affairs. According to the UAE’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Environment, the goals of the Paris Agreement cannot be achieved without addressing the interdependence between food systems, agriculture and climate. The initiative is important because the declaration’s signatory countries are home to 5.7 billion people and nearly 500 million farmers, while producing 70 percent of the country’s agricultural output. of global food and 25 percent. global emissions, for which the industry is largely responsible.
New global initiatives
The COP28 climate summit also brought important initiatives in the context of the energy transition. Global Decarbonization Accelerator (GDA) is a new policy under which 116 countries have pledged to triple the world’s renewable energy generation potential to 11,000. GW. At the same time, 50 companies representing 40 percent. global oil production has made a commitment to achieve zero emissions by 2050. The third pillar of the GDA also decided to allocate $1 billion. For projects that reduce methane emissions.
The UAE president announced the creation of the ALTÉRRA fund, under which the Emirate will invest $30 billion. In addressing climate issues. The initiative is expected to be a financial catalyst that will, by 2030. will attract further investment worth up to $250 billion in total. In particular, the measures are intended to help developing countries and emerging economies in the Global South.
Climate summit recognizes value of health
Commentators consider the Declaration on Climate and Health, prepared in cooperation with the World Health Organization, to be one of the greatest achievements of the COP28 conference so far. Signed by 123 countries on December 2, the declaration recognizes the need to prepare for the health effects that heat waves, air pollution and the spread of infections will bring. Already today, 189 million people experience extreme weather events each year, and 9 million die prematurely due to poor air quality. On December 3, health ministers from more than 100 countries around the world met for the first time in the history of climate summits. Their talks are meant to reflect a change in attitudes toward the climate, which is, after all, a determinant of the condition of societies. A fund of $1 billion has been generated for health promotion initiatives.
Help for forests and oceans
The December climate summit in Dubai also highlighted the great importance of nature in climate action. Participants presented a number of ambitious projects totaling $1.7 billion. and including, but not limited to:
- $30 million. on increasing Ghana’s climate resilience;
- $100 million. for the protection of small Pacific islands, particularly their waters;
- 250 million dollars. under the ORCA covenant for the protection of sensitive marine areas, mitigation activities and scientific research;
- $210 million. donated by France for forest conservation in Papua/New Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo.
Climate summit – finance and technology
The day of December 4 at COP28 was marked by talks on finance. As part of it, representatives of the world’s largest banks pledged to expand the lending system to include clauses related to climate resilience. Analysts view the move as an important advance in the reform to make climate project financing more accessible and cost-effective. A day later, the climate summit turned to the accelerated development of modern solutions to support the energy transition. The session featured a number of ambitious projects related to, among other things. with the location of geothermal sources, the production of low-carbon hydrogen or industrial decarbonization.
In the coming days, COP28 will address, among other things. transportation, waste and green building, but also the roles that women, young people and traditional societies play in climate action.
Photo source: Wikipedia/By UNCTAD – UNCTAD at COP28 – 2 December 2023, CC BY-SA 2.0
