Arab News, Thurs, Nov 30, 2023 | Jumada Al-Uola 16, 1445
Can COP28 grab the world’s attention?
RIYADH:
Around 200 heads of state, and diplomats will gather in Dubai later this
week for the COP28 climate summit. This occurs at a time when global
attention is fixated on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
While a ceasefire has been extended for a few more days, there are concerns
that the ongoing global noise and chaos, intensified by the war since it
began on Oct. 7 and the continued conflict in Ukraine, may overshadow the
pivotal need to address climate change.
The two-week COP28 begins on Nov. 30 and is convened annually by the UN COP,
which stands for “Conference of the Parties,” referring to nations that
agreed to a climate change framework by the UN in 1992. This marks the 28th
year of its occurrence.
“The UAE has called for the protection of civilians and stressed that the
immediate priority is to end the violence,” a COP28 spokesperson told Arab
News.
“In coordination with the UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change), we remain confident that COP28 will focus on delivering tangible
outcomes in the global fight against climate change. We will provide an
environment that enables attendees to focus on the pressing issue of climate
action and the collaborative efforts required to address it effectively.”
While the impact of the conflict in Gaza on the world economy has been
minimal thus far, a prolongation of the war, as termed by the IMF, could
cast a “new cloud” over the economic outlook.
This would have a direct impact on oil prices and global economic growth,
thus entailing a negative influence on richer nations’ ability and desire to
assist developing countries grappling with climate-related challenges. This
includes nations in the Middle East, such as Iraq, and a range of African
countries, among others.
Several notable guests, including King Charles III, UN Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres, and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, are
expected to attend. Although originally scheduled, Pope Francis, in what
would have been a first for a pontiff, had to cancel last minute due to poor
health.
However, some other crucial world players have chosen not to attend. US
President Joe Biden announced that he would sit out the world leaders’
summit scheduled for this Friday and Saturday, coinciding with the opening
of COP28. The White House did not provide an explanation for his absence,
although Biden has participated in the global conference over the past two
years.
The World Climate Action “signifies the importance for world leaders to
implement and transform key climate-related decisions into concrete actions
and credible plans, continue raising ambition, building up from previous
Conference of the Parties, and keep the high-level commitment on climate
change issues,” the UN said on its website.
The US is one of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases, making
its attendance crucial as a major contributor to human-caused climate
change. The White House will be represented at COP28 by a climate team,
including Special Envoy John Kerry, National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi, and
Clean Energy Adviser John Podesta.
Biden had also pledged to visit Africa before the end of the year, but that
trip doesn’t seem to be materializing either. The conflicts in Ukraine and
in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, along with domestic challenges back home,
have deeply engaged the US President.
Biden has referred to climate change as the “ultimate threat to humanity.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will also not be attending COP28.
UN climate negotiations require unanimous support from all participating
countries for any deals to pass, making the task of finding consensus
exceptionally challenging.
Tensions, state analysts, are likely to arise at the upcoming summit in
Dubai, hosted by the UAE, the world’s fifth-largest oil producer.
The UAE has been at the forefront of normalization with Israel and has also
been providing humanitarian aid in Gaza through field hospitals and treating
Palestinian victims at hospitals in the UAE.
“The greatest worry over the past few years has been a sequence of global
events, from COVID-19, the Ukraine war and now the war in Gaza, which all
have had the potential to overshadow and distract from action on climate
change, which is obviously critically important even while all these other
crises are happening,” David Waskow, international climate director, World
Resources Institute, told Arab News.
Despite the noise, Waskow said he saw some slivers of light on the horizon
in the last few weeks with the US-China joint statement “on enhancing
cooperation to address the climate crisis.”
The announcement came shortly before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
forum, where President Biden and President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines.
“This clearly demonstrated how climate was on the agenda for them, not just
on their radar,” said Waskow.
Why is this important?
China and the US are the world’s two biggest polluters. China is the world’s
biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, producing 12.7 billion tons of emissions
annually. The US is the second-largest producer of carbon dioxide gas in the
world, currently at 5.9 billion tons annually.
Both countries are also the world’s green tech powerhouses. If both
countries can come to an agreement to curb their greenhouse gas emissions,
it would constitute a significantly impactful step toward the world’s
ability to address climate change and, consequently, global warming.
“The climate issue still has real salience geopolitically,” adds Waskow.
“The large number of heads of state attending COP28 speaks to the level of
input that countries are giving to the climate issue.”
While Waskow, like others, acknowledges the burdens of the world’s conflicts
overshadowing the critical issue of climate, he believes that the events and
attendees showing up to the event can “cut through the noise to ensure that
climate is given the priority it requires.”
After the tensions over last year’s COP held in Egypt’s Sharm El Sheikh,
some remain skeptical about how COPs can make a difference in addressing the
urgent issue of climate change, particularly concerning crucial matters of
loss and damages that involve the ability of the world’s most vulnerable
countries to repair damage from climate breakdown.
The question of who will finance the repair remains paramount, and these
important questions are once again on the table this year in Dubai.
Waskow emphasizes the importance of keeping in context and perspective what
COPs can achieve.
“I believe they’re one of our levers among many levers that need to be
pulled,” he added. “Sometimes I think people see COPs as a panacea event
where some agreement will be reached and that will move everything forward
in some dramatic way.”
What COPs do, he continues, is something very specific: they move the
conversation forward.