Conference of the Parties (COP) refers to meetings held under treaties in International Environmental Law. COP28 was a global climate meeting held by the United Nations about environmental treaties. The countries that attended COP28 are participants of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was negotiated in 1992. Since then, there have been annual meetings, each time at a different location. One of the most famous products of the UNFCCC is the Paris Agreement, negotiated at COP15.
COP28, or the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties under the creation of the UNFCCC, was held in Dubai from November 30th to December 12th to further discussions on climate change. This COP has taken place every year since 1992, and every year it has proven imperative to continue. Global warming is a serious problem–and it has become more pressing as the world continues to emit more carbon dioxide (created through the burning of fossil fuels and other natural gases)–which heats the Earth’s atmosphere, causing global warming. Think of it as a blanket coating the earth, preventing hot air from escaping. If Earth’s temperature rises above 2º Celsius (35.6º F) from the temperatures during the pre-industrial era (1800s), it will have disastrous effects on the world–for example, it can destroy all our coral reefs. Scientists want to keep temperature change below 1.5ºC, but we are already at 1.3º and the Earth is heating extremely rapidly.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) publishes a report periodically, based on the research of nearly 800 scientists all over the world. In the most recent report of the IPCC, there was a call for a sharp decrease in the use of fossil fuels to stay within the 1.5ºC temperature increase but also acknowledged that countries have “continued to increase their consumption in fossil fuels.” The report realistically called for more adaptation (i.e. reacting or adapting to the effects of climate change) rather than mitigation (reducing the use of fossil fuels).
As the state of our world worsens due to climate change, with melting glaciers increasing sea levels, more frequent flooding, and droughts, it is imperative that countries become focused on reducing emissions.
Unfortunately, the location of COP this year was not a good start: the UAE is a major oil producer. This meant that reducing fossil fuels did not benefit their economy and was therefore not in their best interests. COP28 President Sultan al-Jabar had to backtrack on earlier statements about the “[lack of] science” behind the phase-out of fossil fuels. It did not help that he is also the head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Further, the last two days of COP28 coincided with the Arab Energy Summit, run by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) which took place a six-hour drive, or an hour plane ride, from COP28. The presence of oil-producing nations greatly impacted the final statement from COP28 (which drives the agenda for COP29). Countries disagreed about how to refer to the usage of fossil fuels that are mined for a major profit. While many realized the impact this has on global warming, others continue to drill and base their economies on their resources. This implies countries that have major gas supplies are in positions of power. Putin’s war on Ukraine, for example, has shown how Europe is vulnerable to Russia’s oil and has incentivized countries to research other sources of energy including renewable energy. John Kerry, the US Climate Envoy, said that “by virtue of what [Putin has] done in Ukraine, his presence may encourage people to do what Europe has done, which is the most rapid move to a different kind of fuel.”
In the final days of COP28, more than 100 countries, both developed and developing, said that they would support a phase-out of fossil fuels. However, this would mean a shift away from fossil fuels and their usage, while a phase-down only reduces their usage. The division between countries led to a less successful agreement than anticipated. The final draft was released nearly a day after COP finished and while it was late, it included language on how to reduce the use of fossil fuels. This was a reflection of the intense public criticism of the first draft–which contained no language on the usage of fossil fuels. The final report contained language and references to reduce fossil fuels as used in energy systems, triple renewable energy sources, and double energy efficiency. That being said, there were many loopholes – likely due to fossil fuel-producing countries. One such example is the pro-fossil-fuel language found in the text. In addition, to the disappointment of developing countries, there were few mentions of adaptation finance (helping countries reduce the impacts faced by climate change hazards, such as droughts or storms)–crucial for countries who now live with the impact of climate change caused by fossil fuel emissions from other countries. Al Gore describes the agreement made at COP as the “bare minimum,” with many of the solutions being “long overdue.”
However, all is not lost. While the agreement is lacking in many ways, there were breakthroughs at COP28. This was the first time fossil fuels were explicitly mentioned in the agreement. According to EU Commissioner for Climate Action Wopke Hoekstra, the “tremendous amount of diplomacy… deployed [by developed countries]” combined with the “bridge building” done with those in developing countries helped achieve the final agreement. Secondly, the first-ever health day was created at COP28. The focus was to educate others about climate change in the form of excessive heat, flooding, and droughts–and how they can harm human health. Climate change causes asthma, cancer, and strokes, and increases one’s risk of Parkinson’s. Third, there was the creation of a loss and damage fund to help the most vulnerable countries live in a world of climate change (island states, for example, are facing increasing hurricanes and rising sea levels). Finally, there were many side deals during the event, including a focus on helping developing countries transition from dirty to clean energy and the need to focus on protecting forests and biodiversity in the form of carbon credits (a credit would be given to you if you did not cut down a forest). These were extremely important first steps to take to unite countries and to help reduce the impacts of climate change.
At the end of the day, while COP28 was not as groundbreaking as needed, it created a few stepping stones to get to our goal of stopping climate change. Climate change is not something that can be immediately solved–rather, it’s an issue conquered in steps. The public wanted COP28 to take two steps forward in the breakthroughs made. However, the end result of COP28 was really one step back from the public’s hope. We have made some progress and still hold hope for future COPs. Now, our generation should ask: how soon will we take two steps forward, and no steps back?
