Surviving in the World: The world's largest climate summit, COP28
Good morning. Welcome back to Surviving in the World (SIW), your newsletter written by students for those interested in global affairs. We always try to present select topics in global news in an easy-to-understand format.
​​
Today’s letter discusses COP28, which was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), from November 30 to December 13, 2023.
Brought to you by: Keonhee Ahn (’25).
Word Count: 656 / Time: 5 minute read.
​
​
COP28's Central Debate: Reaching a Global Climate Agreement
​
​​COP28 was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with over 70,000 representatives from nearly every country, including more than 150 heads of state, making it the largest summit to date. (source:Unep.org)
​
What happened?
The world's largest climate summit, COP28, was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 30 to December 13, 2023.
COP28 stands for Conference of the Parties, and COP28 refers to the 28th session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC).
-
The Role: The COP convenes member countries annually to affirm their commitment and responsibility for addressing climate change and to identify and evaluate climate-related policies.
​
-
The Goal: The Paris Agreement, signed at COP 21 in 2015, aims to limit the increase in the Earth's average temperature to less than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by the year 2100.
​
-
The Main Issue: The main issue of COP28 was whether the agreement included the “phasing out” of fossil fuels. However, with strong opposition from oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia, a push towards using the term “transitioning” into a more climate-sensitive was favored.
​
COP28’s stance on coal power centers on gradually reducing the use of 'unabated coal,' or coal power without carbon reduction measures. (source: upec.org)
​
The outcome: For the first time in the 30-year history of the General Assembly, an agreement was reached to reduce the usage of fossil fuels, the crux of the climate crisis.
The official launch of the Loss and Damage Fund, which will provide financial assistance to developing countries suffering from the climate crisis, will also begin following COP28.
-
The transition away from fossil fuels will involve the dismantling of coal-fired power plants with insufficient emission reductions, as well as the restriction of new permits.
​
-
123 countries agreed to triple clean renewable energy generation and double energy efficiency by 2030.
​
-
Twenty-two major countries, including South Korea and the United States, declared their support for the 'Net Zero Nuclear Initiative', which recognizes nuclear power plants as a form of clean energy to combat the climate crisis.
​
-
Compared to 2019, global carbon emissions will be reduced by 43% by 2030 and 60% by 2035.
​
Why should you care?
​
The COP promises a brighter and cleaner future by combating the crisis of climate change.
To strive for these milestones, the COP has also released plans for future implementation. They are as follows.
-
Investment in and development of renewable energy-related industries.
​
-
Prioritize the potential growth of the clean-tech industry.
​
-
As a catastrophic, yet real, problem looms closer, commitments to make rapid advances against climate change are needed.
​
-
Agreed-upon policies must be aggressively pursued, and support and financing for industries that will make progress toward the solutions agreed upon at COP28 are essential.
​
​
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from SIW
Want to change how you receive these emails?
