Representatives from around 200 countries will gather in Dubai this week for the COP28 climate change summit. Conference organizer and OPEC member UAE is trying to sell a vision of a low-carbon future that includes but does not shun fossil fuels. This story, supported by other major oil-producing countries, will highlight international disagreements at the summit over how best to combat global warming: coal, and oil. countries are divided on whether to phase out gas by prioritizing, increasing deployment, or leveraging technologies such as carbon capture to eliminate its climate impact.
The annual United Nations summit, to be held from November 30 to December 12, comes as the world prepares to set a new record for the hottest year in 2023, with a new report, confirming that countries’ current climate commitments are not enough to prevent the worst effects of global warming. One of the key decisions countries will have to make in Dubai, the glittering high-tech city of a country awash in oil money, is whether to agree for the first time to “phase out” global consumption of fossil fuels. Dew. Remove them and replace them with sources such as the sun or wind.
The International Energy Agency, the Western energy watchdog, released a report highlighting the differences and outlining its position ahead of the conference. He called the idea of widespread carbon capture a “fantasy” and said the fossil fuel industry had to choose between worsening the climate crisis or switching to clean energy. This report caused him to provoke an angry response from OPEC, where he accused the IEA of defaming oil-producing countries. “This presents a very narrow framework for the challenges ahead and perhaps conveniently downplays issues such as energy security, energy access, and energy affordability,” OPEC said in a statement. Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion are the largest cause of climate change.
All eyes will be on the new COP President, Sultan Al Jaber. His day job is as CEO of UAE national oil company ADNOC, raising questions about whether he can be an honest broker of a climate change agreement. On Monday, the BBC published a report based on leaked documents saying Prime Minister Jaber wants to discuss potential gas and other trade deals with more than a dozen governments ahead of the summit. And these concerns have become even more acute. A COP28 spokesperson told Reuters the document was “inaccurate”. “Our world has more fossil fuels than ever before,” said Ani Dasgupta, president of the World Resources Institute, a climate change NGO. “What we should be striving for is actually reducing fossil fuels.”
Celebrities such as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Britain’s King Charles are also expected to attend, but US President Joe Biden will not be attending. The big challenge for each country at COP28 is to assess how far they are from the 1.5-degree target. This process, known as the ‘global stocktake’, should produce a comprehensive plan that tells each country what it needs to do to achieve its goals. This global plan must be translated into policies and goals for governments and submitted to the United Nations in 2025. Ahead of the conference, the European Union, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates have mobilized support for a deal to triple global renewable energy deployment by 2030.
Officials told Reuters that more than 100 countries support the deal, but countries such as China and India have not yet fully joined. U.S. officials are hopeful that the recent U.S.-China climate change agreement could also provide a positive tone for negotiations. Under the agreement, the world’s two largest greenhouse gas emitters agreed to promote renewable energy and “accelerate the replacement of coal, oil, and gas power generation.” Although the agreement did not include a “divestment” of coal, one senior U.S. official said he expected a new “fusion” of language to achieve that goal. The US-China agreement calls for both countries to “accelerate the replacement of coal, oil, and gas power generation”, which it says will lead to “significant” emissions reductions in the energy sector. Another important task of the conference was the launch of the world’s first climate damage fund to support countries that have already suffered irreparable damage from the effects of climate change, such as droughts, floods, and sea level rise.
Representatives from developed and developing countries reached a preliminary agreement on its design. All countries will consider the agreement, but some may object. The agreement will not be final until it is approved by each country at COP28. Armenia’s chief negotiator for the fund, Gayane Gavriyan, told Reuters that a “loss and damage” fund deal could be struck ahead of next year’s elections, which could be destroyed if the US and others challenge the agreement politically. He said it was critical that it be approved now. Another test will be whether rich countries will announce funding for a fund worth hundreds of millions of dollars at COP28. The European Union and the United States have already said they will do their part and are calling on countries such as China and the United Arab Emirates to follow suit. Najib Ahmed, National Advisor to Somalia’s Ministry of Climate, said: “Unfortunately, experience shows that most global agreements and most global climate commitments are not being implemented.” said.