Brief Summary of COP28 Dubai UAE 2023

Information about COP28

The venue: Dubai. Between November 30 and December 12, 2023

President designated: Sultan Al Jaber

The motto: “Unite, act, deliver.”

Main objective: Keep the increase in global temperature to 1.5°C by 2100.

COP28 Goals

Phase out fossil fuels.
End fossil fuel subsidies.
Triple renewable energy in seven years.

Sultan Al Jaber’s unusual words:

“There is no science to support the idea that abandoning fossil fuels will allow us to control climate change… eliminating fossil fuels would be like going back to the Stone Age.”

As expected, these statements caused waves of criticism. These words weren’t spoken by the neighbor next door, but by none other than the president of COP28.

Is it the Sultan’s fault, or the fault of whoever put him in that position? With decisions like this, we’ll hardly be able to solve the climate problem.

The Loss and Damage Fund

On the first day of COP28 activities, the decision was made to launch the Loss and Damage Fund, which would compensate the country’s most vulnerable to climate change. The United Arab Emirates, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan, among other countries, have pledged to contribute to this fund. DW headlined: “COP28: Historic loss and damage fund approved.”

But time would prove there was nothing to celebrate.

The UN Secretary-General stated that the financial commitments are very limited and said that “much more is needed to deliver climate justice for those on the front lines of the crisis.”

The draft presented was rejected by the parties and was the reason for the extension on the final day. On December 12, the last official day of COP28, no agreement was reached.

Unusual: In November 2021, Pradeep Kurukulasuriya, Director and Executive Coordinator of “Nature, Climate and Energy” at the UNDP, reported:

“Every year, governments spend an astonishing $423 billion on average to subsidize fossil fuel consumption.”

A separate document stated: “Efforts must be accelerated towards phasing out coal; achieving emission-free road transport; and eliminating fossil fuel subsidies…”

Trip renewable energy in seven years

COP28 mediators secured commitments to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030.

Rejection of the draft agreement extends the conference

On Tuesday, December 12, the last official day of COP28, no agreement had been reached. Environmental groups and numerous countries expressed strong criticism of the draft resolution presented by the COP presidency. The issue centered on how to establish a phase-out of fossil fuels, a complex topic that led to discussions extending late into the night.

The draft opened the door to reducing fossil fuels, but not to their use and production. Furthermore, it left other loopholes that would allow the continued use of fossil fuels in the coming decades, without a clearly stated commitment to eliminating coal, oil, and gas.

Antonio Guterres stated:

“Limiting global warming to 1.5°C, one of the key objectives established in the historic 2015 Paris Agreement, will be impossible without the phase-out of all fossil fuels.”

Criticisms and opinions from various media outlets regarding COP28

The newspaper El Mundo headlined: “COP28: Division among petrostates in the final moments of the Climate Summit.”

“The EU’s harsh criticism of the draft, which it described as ‘unacceptable and insufficient,’ was joined by that of a broad group of countries led by the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan.”

El Nacional: “COP28 agreement receives criticism for its lack of forcefulness… although everyone valued it as progress, many voices criticized its lack of forcefulness and clarity regarding the future of coal, oil, and gas, and its shortcomings in financing and adaptation, especially concerning the needs of the most vulnerable countries.”

And SGK-PLANET’s opinion

We have been in this poorly paid profession of environmentalism for almost twenty years. During this time, we have been able to learn, analyze, and take note of a great deal. For example, we have observed that at the COPs there is a kind of dynamic that, in simplified terms, repeats itself in this order: 1. Discussions, 2. Agreements, 3. Promises for later.

Finally, everything is wrapped in a package lined with very elegant gift paper and offered to the world as a successful outcome of the year’s main climate meeting, reaching the public through a wide variety of media.