As 200 delegates prepare to meet for COP28 on November 30, they face mounting urgency to take aggressive action to address the devastating climate crisis we now face due to inadequate steps at previous UNFCCC annual meetings. In the two weeks of negotiations, nations need to come together to find the political will to change course and rapidly cease investments in fossil fuels, according to UNEP’s recent The Production Gap report .
According to the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD):
Many regard this year’s edition as the most important COP since COP 21, where governments adopted the Paris Agreement. The global stocktake, the Paris Agreement mandated inventory of global progress on climate action, is set to conclude in Dubai, with world leaders expected to present a political response. The global stocktake has already revealed that countries are not on track to meet the Paris Agreement’s mitigation goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Rather, the world needs to move much faster to reduce emissions.
In this context, COP 28 is a moment of reckoning for the energy sector. It presents a significant opportunity for governments to construct a credible and ambitious deal to dramatically step up climate action to speed up the energy transition.
Since COP27, they report, momentum for phasing out fossil fuels has increased.
In May, the G7 committed to “accelerat[ing] the phase-out of unabated fossil fuels.” The High Ambition Coalition has repeatedly called for fossil fuel phase-out. The global stocktake technical synthesis report, which summarizes the science showing what’s needed to get on track with Paris Agreement goals, was very clear that phasing out all unabated fossil fuels is necessary to achieve net-zero. The European Union (EU) has made fossil fuel phase-out a key pillar of its COP 28 strategy. More than 100 companies have also backed the push for fossil fuel phase-out.
Carbon Brief announced that global CO2 emissions have been relatively flat since 2015 and are slightly below highs set in 2019. Emissions have, however, increased by 1.0% in 2022.
The NYT provides a detailed overview of the COP process with a focus on COP28, reporting on three goals for the conference:
- The global stocktake, which formally assesses if participating nations' actions align with the Paris Agreement to limit global temperatures to a 1.5 degree C increase from preindustrial levels
- The final parameters of the “loss and damage” fund, agreed to in Egypt at last year’s COP27, which will include a determination of the countries contributing money to the fund and those receiving benefits
- A consensus on replacing fossil fuels with clean energy and how participating nations will achieve this goal
UN Women continue their work to guarantee that female rights, needs, and abilities are front and center in COP28 discussions and policies. As extreme weather events increase, women and girls experience significantly more severe consequences, particularly in relation to food insecurity, poverty and violence.
As nations transition from fossil fuel economies and shift towards sustainable environmental practices, “gender-responsive” transitions are needed to make sure that women’s rights are a priority.
According to the UNFCCC article Five Reasons Why Climate Action Needs Women:
Women often face higher risks and greater burdens from the impacts of climate change in situations of poverty and due to existing roles, responsibilities and cultural norms. For example, in many societies, women are responsible for household energy, food, water and care for the young and elderly.
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The Gender Action Plan agreed by governments under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) calls for women's full, equal, and meaningful participation in the international climate process and to ensure a prominent role for women in decision-making and in climate action.