Agenda includes 1st global stock-taking of climate action on Paris Agreement goals
The annual United Nations climate summit will start next week in Dubai — a yearly meeting where countries of the world negotiate how, in the words of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, to “prevent dangerous [human] interference with the climate system.”
But after nearly three decades of these meetings, do they achieve anything for the climate?
And what would make this one, COP28, a success? Here’s a closer look.
What is COP28?
COP stands for Conference of the Parties, where the parties are 197 states and one regional economic organization that have signed the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the parent agreement of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The first COP was in 1995; this is the 28th annual meeting in the COP series. It will take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 30 to Dec. 12.
In addition to government representatives, the meetings can be attended by accredited “observer” non-governmental and inter-governmental organizations and media. This year’s conference is expected to draw more than 70,000 delegates.
Alongside the conference, as usual, there will be an area called the “green zone,” featuring climate-related exhibits and events that are open to businesses and the general public.
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What’s the point of COP meetings?
While all the parties signed on to the 1992 framework that aimed to “protect the climate system for the benefit of present and future generations of humankind,” the framework didn’t say how that would be done.
That’s what COP summits have been working on ever since.
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According to the UN, the goal of the annual meetings is to determine “ambition and responsibilities, and identify and assess climate measures.” In other words, countries are supposed to agree on what to do next to cut the greenhouses gases that are causing climate change.
They also need to adapt to and limit the damage from changes that are already happening, such as hotter weather and more flooding, droughts and wildfires, especially in poorer and more vulnerable parts of the world.
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Rishi Bhandary, assistant director of the Global Economic Governance Initiative at the Boston University Global Development Policy Centre, noted that one thing that’s particular to COP is that decisions made there require consensus — not a majority vote: “You really need to take every country along.”
What’s the focus of this particular meeting?
The specific topics that are the focus at each COP are decided ahead of time, Bhandary said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made note of some in a speech on this past Monday, and other organizations have also listed them as things to watch.
Global stocktake
Every five years, the parties that signed the 2015 Paris Agreement are supposed to “take stock” of the world’s progress, including cutting emissions to keep global warming below 2 C above pre-industrial temperatures while “pursuing efforts” to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 C.
This year’s global stocktake is the first of its kind.
It’s something that many people are keeping an eye on, including Jennifer Allan, who reports on climate negotiations for the International Institute for Sustainable Development’s Earth Negotiations Bulletin.
The stocktake is supposed to look at “where are we, in terms of reducing emissions and building resilience to climate change and supporting developing countries,” she said. Technical fact-finding for the stocktake has taken place over the past year and a half. “Now it’s the political outcome.”
The goal is to help countries prioritize their climate actions going forward and shape their next climate plan (known as a “nationally determined contribution” or NDC), which needs to be updated every five years.
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/cop-28-explainer-1.7037668