COP28: Clean Energy To Future Of Fossil Fuels, A Look At Key Issues To Be Discussed At UN Climate Conference

COP28: The 28th United Nations Climate Change Summit (COP28) will take place in Dubai from November 30 to December 12 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the seventh-largest oil-producing nation in the world. This year, COP28 will bring together more than 70,000 people from nearly 200 countries. It is expected that the 28th round of the annual UN climate summit will feature intense negotiations on financial aid for reducing planet-warming emissions and climate change adaptation, as well as compensation from rich countries to developing ones for climate impacts, fossil fuel usage, and methane emissions.

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What Is COP

The Conference of the Parties, or COP, is an annual meeting of United Nations member states to review the state of climate change mitigation and make a plan for climate action within the guidelines of the UNFCCC.

COP28 Conference: What Are The Key Issues To Be Discussed

Climate Progress

The primary objective of COP28 is to evaluate how well nations are doing in achieving the 2015 Paris Agreement's target of keeping the rise in global temperatures "well below" 2 degrees Celsius, with a 1.5C target. During the summit, countries will attempt to come to an agreement on a strategy to get the world back on track to fulfil climate targets, which may involve taking immediate action to reduce CO2 emissions or increasing investments in green technology. By 2025, it is anticipated that countries will revise their national strategies and targets for reducing emissions.

Future Of Fossil Fuels

The most contentious discussions at COP28 would centre on the role of fossil fuels in the future and whether countries should commit to phasing out the use of CO2-emitting coal, oil and gas. At COP26, countries decided to gradually reduce their use of coal but they have never agreed to give up all fossil fuels, which are the primary cause of emissions that warm the world.

As UAE's incoming COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber has said the phase-down of fossil fuels is "inevitable", countries are waiting to see if the UAE will push other oil-rich nations to back the idea at COP28, Reuters reported.

Clean Energy

By 2030, countries should aim to double energy savings and triple renewable energy capacity, as suggested by the US, the EU, and the UAE during their COP28 leadership. This appears to have widespread support with G20 major economies including China already backing the renewables goal. But the EU and some climate-vulnerable countries insist on pairing this pledge to boost renewables with phasing out fossil fuels.

Technologies To Tackle Emissions

At COP28, the UAE and other nations whose economies rely on fossil fuels want a major emphasis on emerging technologies that are intended to capture and store CO2 emissions underground. According to the International Energy Agency, as reported by Reuters, these emissions abatement technologies are essential for achieving the world's climate goals, but they are also costly and not widely used at the moment.

Financing Cost Of Climate Change

According to the UN, developing nations would require at least USD 200 billion year by 2030 to adapt to increasingly severe climate impacts, such as storms and coastal sea level rise. They will also require funds in order to assist in the transition from polluting energy sources to clean ones.