2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference facts for kids
The entrance to COP28 with the flags of all nations
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| Native name | مؤتمر الأمم المتحدة للتغير المناخي 2023 |
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| Date | 30 November – 12 December 2023 |
| Location | Expo City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| Organised by | United Arab Emirates |
| Participants | UNFCCC member countries |
| President | Sultan Al Jaber |
| Previous event | ← Sharm El Sheikh 2022 |
| Next event | → 2024 Baku |
| Website | https://www.cop28.com |
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The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly known as COP28, was the 28th United Nations Climate Change conference, held from 30 November until 12 December 2023 at Expo City, Dubai. COP conference has been held annually (except 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) since the first UN climate agreement in 1992. They are intended for governments to agree on policies to limit global temperature rises and adapt to impacts associated with climate change.
The conference was widely criticised, both regarding the leader of the summit, as well as the choice of the United Arab Emirates as the host country, given its dubious and opaque environmental record and role as a major producer of fossil fuels. President of the summit Sultan Al Jaber is the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), leading to concerns over conflict of interest. Over 100 members of the US Congress and European Parliament called for the United Arab Emirates to vacate Jaber from the position. Claims of greenwashing of Jaber on Wikipedia through paid editing, the legal inability to criticise Emirati corporations in the UAE, covert access to conference emails by ADNOC, and the invitation of Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad have all raised concerns regarding the integrity of the conference. Organised bot farms intended on defending Jaber and the UAE were also uncovered in June 2023. On 21 November, Jaber stated that there was "no science" behind fossil fuel phase-out. Six days later, leaked documents appeared to show plans for the UAE to use the conference to strike new fossil fuel deals with other nations, sparking international outcry.
On 13 December, Al-Jaber announced that a final compromise agreement between the countries involved had been reached, with the deal "calling on" all nations to "transition away" from fossil fuels "in a just, orderly and equitable manner", in order to prevent the worst outcome of climate change, while also "accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science". The global pact was the first in the history of COP summits to explicitly mention the necessity to shift away from every type of fossil fuels, but still received widespread criticism due to the decision not to include a clear commitment to either fossil fuel phase-out or phase-down.
Background
The United Arab Emirates is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, due to its very hot and humid climate. The observed annual average mean surface air temperature in the UAE has risen by 1.27°C (2.29°F) between 1990 to 2022. Without a reduction in emissions, wet-bulb temperatures in the region are expected to cross 35°C (95°F) for a prolonged period of time by the 2070s. The Red Sea and Persian Gulf are the regions with the highest number of heat-humidity extreme events in the world, and they have exceeded safe wet-bulb temperature thresholds several times. Other impacts felt in the region are dust storms, sea level rise, and drought. According to the Climate & Clean Air Coalition, the UAE is making efforts to reduce emissions in many ways across different sectors of its economy. Measures include promoting organic and hydroponic agriculture, building the Etihad Rail, reducing waste (especially food waste), and promoting a more circular economy.
The UAE pledged to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2050; the first Middle Eastern government to make such a pledge. It was the first country in the region to sign the Paris Agreement on 21 September 2016. The country has invested $50 billion into clean energy internationally and promised an additional $50 billion by 2030. In November 2022, the UAE agreed to partner with the United States to invest another $100 billion in clean energy.
See also
In Spanish: Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Cambio Climático de 2023 para niños
- 2023 in climate change
- 49th G7 summit
- Carbon capture and storage (CCS)
- Climate change in the United Arab Emirates
- Climate finance
- Global Assembly
- Global Stocktake
- Greenwashing
- Hydrogen economy
