COP28

The COP28 United Nations Climate Change Conference, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from November 30 to December 13, 2023, was the largest of its kind. Some 85,000 participants, including over 150 heads of state and government, were among the representatives of national delegations, civil society, business, indigenous peoples, youth, philanthropy and international organizations present at the conference.

Here are the key highlights: 

• COP28 began with a landmark agreement to operationalize financing mechanisms to address loss and damage, including a new dedicated fund under the UNFCCC. Pledges to address loss and damage began pouring in moments after the decision was adopted, totaling over 600 million USD to date.
• COP 28 closed with an agreement that signals the “beginning of the end” of the fossil fuel era by laying the ground for a swift, just and equitable transition, underpinned by deep emissions cuts and scaled-up finance.
• Parties agreed on targets for the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) and its framework, which identify where the world needs to get to in order to be resilient to the impacts of a changing climate and to assess countries’ efforts. 
• COP 28 resulted in unprecedented recognition and momentum for linking efforts to address the climate and biodiversity crises. Governments were called on to consider ecosystems, biodiversity and carbon stores, such as forests, when developing their stronger national climate action plans (known as nationally determined contributions), which are due by early 2025.

Climate finance took center stage at the conference. Discussions continued on setting a ‘new collective quantified goal on climate finance’ in 2024.