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Welcome! Today is the first day of COP28.
Welcome to the first day of EESI’s COP28 coverage! This year’s climate conference will have the highest-ever attendance, with more than 100,000 people expected to be involved virtually and in-person in Dubai, U.A.E. Tomorrow, about 170 heads of state are expected to speak at the World Climate Action Summit, the high-level segment of COP, and over the course of the two-week meeting.
During the official opening of the summit, COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber highlighted the importance of using the warming limit of 1.5°C (2.7°F) as the “North Star” in the coming negotiations. Participants can also expect to hear robust discussion about the Loss and Damage Fund, the first global stocktake, increasing climate finance, and the COP28 presidency’s own fossil fuel ties in the coming days.
Confused by COP terminology and acronyms? Check out EESI's glossary of terms and other helpful guides in the Resources section!
If you are in Dubai, catch up with EESI President Daniel Bresette and Policy Manager Anna McGinn! To connect, email Anna at amcginn@eesi.org. You can also visit our booth in area 95 between B5 and B6. We are booth number 43.
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Key Takeaways for Congress
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- About $429 million has already been pledged to the Loss and Damage Fund. (Negotiations)
- More than a dozen members of Congress and their staff will arrive in Dubai next week. (Congress at COP28)
- The World Meteorological Organization released a report confirming that 2023 is set to be the warmest year on Earth since record-keeping began. (Other News)
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| COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber speaking at the COP28 opening ceremony. Credit: EESI |
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- $429 million: On the first day of COP28, countries pledged about $429 million to establish and operationalize the heavily-discussed Loss and Damage Fund. Pledges were made by the E.U. ($145 million), the U.A.E. ($100 million), Germany ($100 million), the U.K. ($75 million), the U.S. ($24.5 million), and Japan ($10 million). Many more heads of state are expected to announce pledges in the coming days. Countries also concluded a year-long set of meetings with an agreement on the basic parameters of the fund during today’s opening session.
- North Star of 1.5°C: The opening of the conference has two main sections—the opening ceremony and the adoption of the agendas for the negotiations. At the opening ceremony today, COP27 President Sameh Shoukry, foreign minister of Egypt, handed off the gavel to COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber, who is both the minister of industry and advanced technology for the U.A.E. and the head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). Al Jaber called for a strong outcome on the first global stocktake, committed to an inclusive and transparent process, and declared that his “North Star” is 1.5°C. He emphasized the U.A.E.’s decision to engage oil and gas companies in climate discussions. He also highlighted that COP28 will be the first COP to host a climate and health ministerial-level dialogue.
- Teaching climate action to run: Simon Stiell, the executive secretary of the UNFCCC, and Jim Skea, the new chair of the IPCC, also spoke during the opening ceremony. Stiell said that the world is still focused on climate action “baby steps,” but we need to “teach climate action to run.” He called for a signal of the terminal decline of the fossil fuel energy system and a just transition away from fossil fuels. He also made clear that countries are expected to update, and hopefully make more ambitious, their national climate commitments, called nationally determined contributions (NDCs), by 2025. Skea highlighted the strong scientific evidence underpinning the need to act. He will be leading the IPCC’s 7th Assessment Report process, due to release its findings by 2028.
- Youth Climate Champion: The U.A.E. is following in the example of last year’s COP by appointing a Youth Climate Champion (previously “Youth Envoy”). Shamma Al Mazrui, the country’s minister of community development, has been appointed to this role, making her the first-ever Youth Climate Champion with a ministerial position. Al Mazrui will work to amplify the participation of those under the age of 35 in this year’s conference.
- $100 billion: Germany and Canada announced that the commitment made by developed countries to provide $100 billion per year in international climate finance by 2020 was likely met in 2022 and was “certainly met in 2023,” according to their interpretation of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) analysis. The anticipated final report from 2022 is expected to confirm this preliminary information. The representative from Canada underscored that, while this is an important step, it is not nearly enough, and that they are looking forward to setting the next “transformational finance goal at COP29.”
- Ocean and climate dialogue: The co-facilitators from Canada and Chile reported on the third UNFCCC Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue, which took place in Germany over the summer. The key message from the dialogue is that countries can and should integrate ocean health into their climate commitments, including in their NDCs and national adaptation plans. To make this possible, many countries need increased research and more mechanisms for data to be managed and shared. The co-facilitators also reported that more than 250 ocean-based climate solutions were shared over the course of the two-day dialogue.
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| Outside view of Expo City, home of COP28. Credit: EESI |
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- Congressional delegations are set to arrive soon: More than a dozen members of Congress—from both chambers and both parties—and more than two dozen staff are expected to attend COP28 next week. Headlining the delegations are House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.). Conservative Climate Caucus leaders Reps. John Curtis (R-Utah) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) also plan to attend. House Climate Solutions Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Penn.) will also lead a bipartisan group. Senators led by Foreign Relations Committee Chair Ben Cardin (D-Md.) will be accompanied by a bipartisan delegation of Congressional staff.
- House Energy and Commerce Committee holds COP28 hearing: House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders convened a Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials hearing yesterday to “examine lessons of America’s experience and success in reducing emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases.” Previewing the message House Republicans plan to bring to Dubai, Energy and Committee Chair Rodgers; Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee Chair Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.); and Environment, Manufacturing, & Critical Materials Subcommittee Chair Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) issued a joint statement saying, “[W]e look forward to celebrating America’s energy and environmental record and discussing how the U.S.—not China—continues to lead on unleashing clean energy across the board.” A follow-up subcommittee hearing is scheduled for December 5.
- Senators and representatives raise concerns about fossil fuel ties to COP28: A group of Congressional Democrats sent a letter to the UNFCCC Consultation on Net Zero Recognition taking aim at oil and gas companies. The letter expresses “profound concern that current rules governing the UNFCCC permit private sector polluters to exert undue influence on UNFCCC processes.” Several signatories, including Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), will travel to Dubai next week to attend the negotiations.
- What can Congressional delegations expect at COP28? Following the first official day of COP28, EESI’s team on the ground has some thoughts to share.
- The first global stocktake will be a top agenda item. The U.S. and other countries will use this process, mandated by the Paris Agreement, to recalibrate their nationally determined contributions. There will be significant pressure to build on historic investments recently provided by Congress in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act to ensure the U.S. lives up to its climate goal.
- Another key area of negotiations with ties to Congress is international climate finance, including financial commitments to the new Loss and Damage Fund as well as appropriations for the Green Climate Fund and other sources of grants and loans to developing countries.
- There is already a massive presence of U.S. stakeholders in Dubai, with more expected to arrive each day. Each group will have its own agenda, priorities for the negotiations, and plans to participate in side events and other meetings. There is considerable and substantive awareness and understanding of U.S. policies and investments as well as criticisms of shortcomings —real and perceived—awaiting the Congressional delegation.
- Hydration, breathable fabrics, and comfortable shoes are a must. Dubai is in the desert, not far from the equator. It is hot and dry, although the venue has an impressive amount of shade provided by trees, artwork, pavilions, and retractable sunshades.
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| World flags fly outside the Dubai Exhibition Centre. Credit: EESI |
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- Local government leaders: Mayors from the U.S., Finland, and Brazil spoke at a press conference about the COP28 priorities of the UNFCCC’s Local Governments and Municipal Authorities constituency group. They emphasized the role of subnational governments in implementing climate action and assessing progress in a way that feeds into the global stocktake. U.S. cities, including Denver, Colorado; Saint Paul, Minnesota; and Concord, Massachusetts, are part of the #Stocktake4ClimateEmergency initiative. Mayor Frank Cownie of Des Moines, Iowa, serves as the president of ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability and highlighted the Cities Forward initiative. The initiative, led by the State Department, connects local leaders in the U.S. with those in select cities across Latin America to advance urban sustainability.
- Highlighting local adaptation needs: The Global Center on Adaptation released its 2023 report, Stories of Resilience: Lessons from Local Adaptation Practice, ahead of the first global stocktake. The report emphasizes that local communities in the Global South are at the forefront of climate impacts and therefore must take the driver’s seat in global adaptation and resilience efforts. However, international finance has not matched the needs and priorities of these communities, which also face bureaucratic and technical barriers in applying for adaptation funding. In order to meet the $400 billion needed in adaptation funding, effective financing efforts should connect communities directly to international financial institutions.
- World Climate Action Summit: About 170 heads of state are expected to speak during the World Climate Action Summit, which starts tomorrow. Heads of state will have three minutes to share an update with the global community on their commitment to address the climate crisis.
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| Close-up of the OUR WORLD installation made from found and reused materials by 40 student artists in response to the question, “What is your vision of the next chapter on the natural world of the U.A.E.?” Credit: EESI |
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- Climate in U.S. polls: The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication released a new report, Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, based on a national survey conducted in October 2023 in partnership with George Mason University’s Center for Climate Change Communication. While the report overall focuses on the domestic political landscape, it contains a chapter dedicated to U.S. participation in international climate action.
- State of the climate: The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released a report, Provisional State of the Global Climate in 2023, confirming that 2023 is set to be the warmest year on Earth since record-keeping began. This conclusion is based on observed ocean and land temperatures through the month of October, with the last two months of 2023 unlikely to change WMO’s ranking. Other key takeaways of the WMO report: the three main greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—reached record-high levels in 2022 and have continued to increase in 2023; satellite records show the rate of sea level rise in the last decade has been more than double the rate of the previous decade; Antarctic sea ice levels reached a record low; and heavy socio-economic impacts and loss of life occurred this year as a result of severe weather events, including extreme heat, wildfires, and flooding.
- Not enough climate finance: A COP-focused special report from Environmental Finance, COP28: Financing Net Zero, highlighted that just 16% of global climate finance needs are being met. In order to meet those needs, climate finance would need to increase by at least 590%.
- “It’s all about that ‘base’”: In a press conference, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) called for members of the media to engage with IFRC experts on storytelling about climate impacts at the base level. IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain explained, “Addressing [climate] impacts means addressing the base issues that turn hazards into disasters and doing that at the base level where people are most affected. If we want to tackle humanitarian disasters, it really is ‘All About That Base.’”
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EESI resources
Tracking the negotiations
- CarbonBrief: Reporting and analysis on the U.N. climate talks, with in-depth tracking of country positions in the negotiations
- COP28 Resource Hub: World Resources Institute's extensive set of resources on the climate negotiations
- Earth Negotiations Bulletin: A play-by-play of the negotiations, plus expert analysis from the International Institute for Sustainable Development
- ECO Newsletter: The climate advocate’s perspective from Climate Action Network International
Background and logistics
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Questions about COP28?
Reach out to EESI Policy Manager Anna McGinn with your questions. We will get back to you or include the information in an upcoming newsletter.
Thanks for reading!
This newsletter covering COP28 will be running from November 30 to December 12.
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Staff contributors: Daniel Bresette, Molly Brind’Amour, Alison Davis, Amaury Laporte, Anna McGinn, and Nicole Pouy
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