COP28 took place in Dubai between the 30th of November and the 13th of December 2023. Hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the conference had long been a source of controversy: the UAE is a major producer of fossil fuels and a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) [1]; meanwhile, the man appointed President of COP28 – Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber – has served as the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) since 2016 [2,3]. Many observers were concerned that these ties to the fossil fuel industry would prevent meaningful progress being made [4] – concerns which were only heightened when evidence emerged that the UAE intended to use COP28 as an opportunity to strike deals on oil and gas [5]. Matters were not helped by the conference’s unusually high stakes: under Article 14.2 of the Paris Agreement, COP28 had been designated to conclude the first Global Stocktake (GST) – a major assessment of the world’s progress towards achieving climate targets [6,7,8]. Urgent action was required.
The conference opened with unexpected optimism. During the opening ceremony, Sultan al-Jaber announced that the Loss & Damage Fund had been brought into operation [9,10]. The creation of this fund – which will provide compensation to developing countries for ‘loss and damage’ caused by climate change – was the result of three decades’ worth of advocacy, particularly from Small Island Developing States (SIDS) [11,12], which are amongst the most vulnerable to climate impacts [13]. An agreement to create the Loss & Damage Fund was reached at COP27, but it was not until COP28 that its operating structure was established [12]. The Fund will have a board of 26 people, the majority of whom will be from developing countries, and will sit under the umbrella of the World Bank for the time being [14]. As hosts of the conference, the UAE made the first voluntary contribution ($100 million) to the Fund, followed by the European Union ($145 million), Germany ($100 million), Japan ($10 million), the United Kingdom ($60 million) and the United States of America ($17.5 million) for a total of approximately $430 million on the first day [9,15,16]. By the end of the conference, this figure had risen to approximately $720 million [16,17]. The launch of the Loss & Damage Fund was hailed as a significant achievement by many [18], although it was not without its critics and there remains work to be done – not least since the $720 million committed thus far represents a mere 0.2% of what some have estimated is needed [17].
By Daniel Tucker-Bailey
References
1 – OPEC (2024) Member Countries, Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Accessed 30/01/2024, https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/25.htm
2 – BBC (01/12/2023) ‘Sultan al-Jaber: A quick guide to the COP28 president’, BBC News, Accessed 30/01/2024, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67591804
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6 – Paris Agreement (2015), Accessed 30/01/2024, https://unfccc.int/process/conferences/pastconferences/paris-climate-change-conference-november-2015/paris-agreement
7 – UNFCCC (2023) Why the Global Stocktake is Important for Climate Action this Decade, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Accessed 30/01/2024, https://unfccc.int/topics/global-stocktake/about-the-global-stocktake/why-the-global-stocktake-is-important-for-climate-action-this-decade
8 – Chandrasekhar A, Gabbatiss J (17/11/2023) ‘What is the ‘global stocktake’ and could it accelerate climate action?’, Carbon Brief, Accessed 30/01/2024, https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-what-is-the-global-stocktake-and-could-it-accelerate-climate-action/
9 – COP28 Presidency (30/11/2023) ‘COP28 Presidency unites the world on Loss and Damage’, COP28 Presidency, Accessed 30/01/2024, https://www.cop28.com/en/news/2023/11/COP28-Presidency-unites-the-world-on-Loss-and-Damage
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12 – Wyns A (2022) ‘COP27 establishes loss and damage fund to respond to human cost of climate change’, The Lancet Planetary Health, 7(1):E21-E22, Accessed 30/01/2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00331-X
13 – Pauw P, Mbeva K, van Asselt H (2019) ‘Subtle differentiation of countries’ responsibilities under the Paris Agreement’, Palgrave Communications, 5:86, Accessed 30/01/2024, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-019-0298-6
14 – Operationalization of the new funding arrangements, including the fund, for responding to loss and damage referred to in paragraphs 2-3 of decisions 2/CP.27 and 2/CMA.4 (2023) Accessed 30.01.2024, https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cp2023_L1_cma2023_L1.pdf
15 – Williams A, Mooney A (30/11/2023) ‘COP28 secures more than $420 million to seed loss and damage fund’, Financial Times, Accessed 30/01/2024, https://www.ft.com/content/e4c0c0fc-cb2f-495a-ba22-4bad1ef4a7dc
16 – Bracking S (12/12/2023) ‘COP28: any news on climate finance?’, King’s College London, Accessed 30/01/2024, https://www.kcl.ac.uk/cop28-climate-finance#:~:text=In%20total%20at%20COP28%2C%20contributions,finance%20is%20an%20’obligation‘
17 – Seega N (13/12/2023) ‘Rich Nations’ $700 Million COP28 Pledges Cover 0.2% Of Climate Change Loss And Damage’, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, Accessed 30/01/2024, https://www.cisl.cam.ac.uk/news/blog/rich-nations-700-million-cop28-pledges-cover-02-climate-change-loss-and-damage
18 – Mouterde P (01/12/2023) ‘COP28’s first day hails the ‘loss and damage’ fund’s implementation as an important step forward’, Le Monde, Accessed 30/01/2024, https://www.lemonde.fr/en/environment/article/2023/12/01/cop28-s-first-day-hails-the-loss-and-damage-fund-s-implementation-as-an-important-step-forward_6303663_114.html
