COP28 starts in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, on Thursday, 30 November and runs until 12 December. (Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, the former president of the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP), has called for this year’s summit to be one of credibility where plans and pledges are made, and finance provided, swiftly to help prevent the worst impacts of the climate crisis.
“Countries must agree to a roadmap that resets global climate ambition and action in line with limiting global warming to 1.5°C,” he said
Pulgar-Vidal’s statement comes after a recent report by the EU’s climate monitor, the Copernicus Climate Change Service, found that there were record-breaking temperatures in October, September, August and July this year.
“The sooner, and more decisively, we act, the sooner people and nature can reap the benefits of a cleaner, safer and more stable future,” he said.
COP28 starts in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, on Thursday, 30 November and runs until 12 December.
COP28 aims to evaluate whether countries have made advancements in achieving 2015’s Paris Agreement — a legally binding framework to restrict the global temperature increase to below 2°C. They agreed to keep warming at 1.5°C.
Discussions about doing away with fossil fuels as an energy source are expected to take centre stage and open the platform for compensation for loss and damage caused by carbon emissions after extreme weather events such as high temperatures, heat waves, wildfires and flash floods.
The global stocktake, where countries measure how far they have come in fighting climate change, will also be a focus point.
According to the report, October temperatures were 0.85°C above the 1991 to 2020 average for the month, surpassing the previous record set in 2019 by 0.4°C.
“We can say with near certainty that 2023 will be the warmest year on record and is currently 1.43°C above the pre-industrial average,” said Copernicus Climate Change Service deputy director, Samantha Burgess.
The World Meteorological Organization confirmed that global temperatures are more likely than not to surpass a 1.5°C increase above pre-industrial levels in the next five years.
Secretary general Petteri Taalas said temperatures coupled with El Niño, a weather condition created by warm water coming to the surface of the sea, which is then released as extra heat into the atmosphere, will continue to rise and cause extreme weather.
Taalas said that it is essential for countries to beef up their early-warning systems to avoid catastrophe during extreme weather events.
“El Niño is expected to fuel further temperature increases. Impacts will continue into 2024. It will exacerbate extreme weather and climate events, like heat waves, floods and droughts. Early warnings … save lives,” he said.
Fossil fuels have been blamed for the earth’s warming and it is expected that COP will call for alternative energies to replace them with renewable energy.
The discussions at COP28 will probably centre around the role of fossil fuels and whether nations should pledge to initiate the gradual reduction of carbon dioxide-emitting coal, oil and gas.
These discussions directly affect South Africa, which relies on coal to produce 80% of its electricity. The South African delegation, led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, will prioritise securing investment and funding for decarbonisation efforts.
These include advocating for a loss and damage fund to aid vulnerable countries affected by climate disasters and establishing a more straightforward investment framework for adaptation projects across the African continent. The formation of the fund was a big victory for developing countries at COP27.
But while the establishment of the fund is important, the “difficult task” of working out the details — how it will be financed, where the funds will come from and the form it will take — will be one of the key items on the agenda in Dubai, Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Minister Barbara Creecy has previously said.
The World Bank estimated that South Africa needs about $500 billion in investments by 2050 to achieve net-zero pathways — routes taken to ensure no emissions come from the country.
After a year marked by unprecedented heat and drought, the climate summit will confront contentious issues as countries strive to reconcile differences in addressing climate change.
Among the challenges are debates on whether to gradually eliminate fossil fuels and how to fund the energy transition in developing nations.
Developing countries will also explore strategies to enhance accountability mechanisms for developed countries, ensuring the fulfilment of financial commitments. This is as developed nations fail to meet the R100 billion a year pledged in Copenhagen in 2009.
Taalas said it was time for countries to heed the call to lower greenhouse gases.
“The urgency to decrease greenhouse gas emissions is greater than ever. Climate action is not an option but a necessity,” Taalas said