DUBAI, Nov 30 (NNN-WAM) – World leaders, government representatives and delegates are set to gather for the annual United Nations climate change summit, known as the Conference of the Parties or COP28, in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Reining in fossil fuels and carbon emissions are expected to be topping the agenda of the 13-day summit (Nov 30 to Dec 12). International funding to help countries adapt to climate change will also be hotly debated, as developing countries have been demanding more contributions from the industrialised nations.
An ambitious loss and damages fund agreed last year, to support poorer nations to help manage the negative effects of climate change, has yet to be put into place. World leaders agreed to the fund after COP27 last year, but they have failed to reach consensus on the most important questions of all – which states will pay into it and how much.
Countries will also face the first review of their progress towards the Paris Agreement, a landmark international treaty on limiting carbon emissions that was signed at the COP21, almost eight years ago.
Although the UAE was the first Middle Eastern country to ratify the agreement, people are deeply divided over hosting the summit in a nation that has been termed as part of the problem, for its reliance on fossil fuels, which account for more than 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Some are now also criticising the inclusion of oil and gas-linked representatives in such summits at all.– NNN-WAM