COP 28

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It is difficult to describe the desperate narrative that dominated this year's COP 28, held in Dubai from November 30 – December 13. UN Climate Chief Simon Stiell stressed the need for decisive action over placating rhetoric. What drove this frantic eleventh-hour heads-up dialog was the reality that the 12 December 2015 Paris Agreement (COP 21), a legally binding international treaty on climate change had failed to achieve the Earth’s 1.5° temperature mandate. COP 28 witnessed 80 countries come together looking for a hand-out to aid in the phase-out of fossil fuels. “Article 2.1(c) of the international Paris Agreement on climate change aimed to do just that by “making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate-resilient development. However, the language of Article 2.1(c) is vague on what exactly it entails. Eight years after virtually all countries signed the Paris Agreement, they’re still at odds over the scope of Article 2.1(c) and how it should be implemented.”

Don’t worry you, citizens of Earth, the conference participants were hard at work drafting the development of a Climate Damage Fund.

“$700m pledged to loss and damage fund at Cop28 covers less than 0.2% needed.

Money offered so far falls far short of estimated $400bn in losses developing countries face each year.”

Week two saw a retreat into a closed-door pontification discussion with the presidency ministerial co-facilitators. The key issues of contention were:

• “Fossil fuel phase-out language.

• GHG (greenhouse gas) reductions are in line with the 1.5° target.

• Tripling renewable energy capacity globally.

• Doubling the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030.

• Accelerating efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal power.

• Accelerating and substantially reducing non-carbon-dioxide emissions globally including in particular methane emissions by 2030.”

 The entire COP 28 delivered to the world a resounding message of money over human life and ecological sustainability. Instead of having reconvened in Dubai 2023, why not just save the expense and time, and revisit COP 21, calling it COP 21/28 for real this time?

"What Is the "Global Stocktakeand How Can It Accelerate Climate ...." N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2023 <https://www.wri.org/insights/explaining-global-stocktake-paris-agreement>.        

 Please, Quiet.. COP28 - 28th Conference of Parties UN COP 28 UAE. N.p.: Quiet. Please. Print