UNFCCC 28 in Dubai: Climate Super Summit Begins

The annual UN climate change conference UNFCCC 28 opens today in Dubai, UAE. It is expected that representatives of more than 200 nations and governments from around the world will take part in it. Over the course of approximately two weeks – the conference runs from November 30 to December 12 – delegates will discuss how to work together to combat alarming climate change. This time, discussions at the 28th UN Conference will focus on the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as set out in the Paris Climate Agreement (2015). Another very difficult issue will be the cessation of the use of fossil fuels, primarily coal and oil. It is noted that the host country of the conference, the UAE, is one of the world’s ten largest oil-producing countries. The chairman of the UNFCCC 28 negotiations will be Sultan al-Jaber, CEO of the state oil company.

US President Joe Biden, Chinese head of state Xi Jinping, and Russian President Vladimir Putin are absent from the conference. At the last minute, Pope Francis’s trip to Dubai was canceled for health reasons. In addition to “official” government delegations, the meeting on the climate crisis will also include representatives of environmental NGOs, scientists, expert groups, national and global industry leaders, and representatives of the religious world.

One of the goals of the annual conference will be to review progress in the fight against climate change. The slogan for this year’s event, as stated on the United Nations website: “UNFCCC 28 in the United Arab Emirates will be a fundamental moment when the world takes stock of the progress made under the Paris Agreement.”

The Dubai conference follows last year’s conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, which reached an agreement on “loss and damage” due to climate change. On the eve of UNFCCC 28, the international agency Standard & Poor’s released the results of the study, according to which “by 2050, global warming could lead to a loss of 4.4% of global GDP.” According to S&P experts, “this systemic effect will occur if warming is not kept below 2 degrees Celsius.”

Essentially, UNFCCC 28 will have to define the details of the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement for it to come into force, guaranteeing resources to the people and countries facing the most dramatic impacts of global warming.

Finally, the focus of the Dubai Conference will be the so-called “global stocktaking,” that is, a review of the commitments made by member states that signed the Paris Agreements. At the moment, the situation does not promise much good: by 2100, if the world does not immediately correct its course of development, the average temperature in the world will increase by 3°, which is twice the safety threshold of 1.5°. According to many experts, including those from the UN Environment Program, nothing can be done now. The fight against climate change is considered by many to be a losing battle. Time is running out, reminded UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres: “Leaders can no longer delay decisions. UNFCCC 28 must prepare us to take decisive action on climate change – now.”