For one, COP 28 was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, one of the OPEC members. Furthermore, it was chaired by Dr Sultan Al Jaber, head of a leading UAE exploration and production company. It was expected to bring fossil fuels under stringent scrutiny and was called “beginning of the end of an era of fossil fuels.” COP28 aspired to be the most inclusive COP ever and aimed to fast-track the energy transition and slash emissions before 2030.

Here are the 5 key takeaways from COP28 Dubai:

Paris Agreement progress discussed at COP28.

The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015 and signed by 196 countries,  remains the cornerstone for addressing future climate challenges. It was agreed, in Paris, that a Global Stock Take (GST) will take place in 2023 and every 5 years thereafter. COP28 concluded the first assessment of progress each state has made towards reducing emissions for the agreement’s central tenet- limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. 

Growing gaps were found in meeting Paris Agreement goals. This makes it more important that the signatories work for a more robust, multilateral climate change mitigation projects plans. For the record, the next global assessment of Paris Agreement targets is expected to take place at COP33 in 2028.

Transition away from fossil fuels

Future of fossil fuels was the single most important decision to be made at COP28. It had its share of controversies right from the beginning. Despite 100 members agreeing to “Phase out” or “Phase down”, a consensus was achieved only to use “Transition away”. While “Phase out” or “Phase down” would have meant a time bound phased approach, “transitioning away” allows countries to be creative and interpret the phrase to suit their compulsions. Signatories are now tasked with preparing detailed adaptation plans by 2025 with a goal to achieve net ZERO by 2025

Climate finance

COP28 started on a positive note and with a promising focus on on mitigating the considerable financial burdens associated with climate change. The “Loss and Damage” fund discussed at COP27 in Egypt was operationalized after decades of negotiations. This fund supports those vulnerable communities and developing nations which bear the brunt of disasters caused by climate change brought about by greenhouse emissions from developed nations. 

While United Nations projects a fund size of $215 to $387 billion per year for adaption of the developing countries, the participant countries have pledged only around $700 million, a tiny fraction of the overall need. Among others, United Arab Emirates and Germany have committed $100 million each, UK has pledged around $51 million, United States committed $17 million but China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gasses currently, has committed only $10 Million funding. 

Renewable energy

Majority of the participating countries renewed their commitment to triple their renewable energy capacity by 2030. Tripling renewable energy in next 6 years would uplift global renewable energy capacity to more than 20% higher than current projections. Also, to meet these goals, solar and wind power deployments would grow at a significant pace. While there has been rapid growth in utilization of renewable energy sources, the goal achievement is still distant for various reasons including lack of investment in this sector. 

As per International Energy Agency (IEA), almost $600 billion would be required globally for the investment in renewables. In addition, the renewables industry has additional obstacles like supply and labor shortages, increasing costs due to high interest rates, and local reluctance for the large energy projects leading to years-long project delays in obtaining necessary permits. 

Methane reduction & carbon offset negotiations 

Endorsed by 150 countries in COP28, the Global Methane Pledge aims for 30 percent reduction by 2030 in methane emissions from 2020 levels. If achieved, by 2050, this alone can potentially avoid a 0.36 degrees Fahrenheit increase in temperature. During COP28, major methane-emitting nations provided additional details on their strategies for regulating methane. The participating countries committed $1 billion support for reducing methane emissions. The private sector led by fifty oil and gas companies agreed to submit their plans by 2025 to reach near zero methane emissions by 2030. 

However, countries could not come to an agreement to establish new rules allowing for the launch of a central system for countries and companies. This was meant to allow them to begin offsetting their carbon emissions and trading those offsets. The deal was rejected by the European Union, Mexico, and the Latin American Ailac bloc. The technical working groups will now begin negotiating again in 2024, with the next chance for a deal at COP29, in Azerbaijan in 2025.

What next

All in all, COP28 turned out to be far more effective than anticipated. The next Conference of Parties, COP29 will be held in Azerbaijan in November 2024. 

The world again hopes to make strides to mitigate climate change.

Stay tuned!