Was the COP28 climate summit a milestone or a mirage? | Explained Premium

COP28 provided a mixed bag of outcomes. The commitment to ramp up renewable energy targets is a significant step forward – whereas issues on L&D metrics, fund management and disbursal, market mechanisms, risky technologies, the room left for continued use of fossil fuels in many sectors, and natural gas as a transitional fuel leave much to be desired.

The 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) – an annual convening of countries signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – happened in Dubai this year, with high expectations that countries would take concrete steps to address the climate crisis.

The negotiations encompassed mitigation efforts, adaptation strategies, financing mechanisms, and the role of developed versus developing nations in climate action. The summit ended with progress on certain fronts but lingering challenges on others.

Following the agreement reached at COP27 to create the ‘Loss and Damage’ (L&D) fund, the last year was dedicated to negotiations on fund-management and financing. In a historic decision, the fund was operationalised at COP28.

However, a meagre $790 million has been pledged so far, by a few nations, despite the corpus requiring $100 billion to more than $400 billion a year. Notably, the U.S., the largest historical emitter, committed only $17.5 million.

The World Bank was designated to oversee and administer the fund. But concerns originating from the experiences of developing countries, related to limited access to the fund, questions about the legal autonomy, flexibility, and decision-making authority, and general scepticism about the fund’s agility in responding promptly to emergencies, have emerged.

There is also a prevailing sentiment among countries that the communities affected by climate-related disasters should be able to directly access funding, preferably in the form of grants and not loans.

During the summit, the first global stocktake (GST) concluded. According to the UNFCCC, the GST “enables countries and other stakeholders to see where they are collectively making progress towards meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement – and where they are not”.