COP28: What was Achieved, and What Needs to Happen Next

COP28: What was Achieved, and What Needs to Happen Next

Time Stamp: December 12, 2023 1:17 PM
Source Node: 3009576

COP28 Positive Progress Report 

Despite the controversies, several steps forward were made, including significant funding to support climate action projects aimed at climate mitigation and restoration of damages that have occurred as a result of our changing atmospheric conditions. 

The Global Climate Action Portal captured over 170 significant announcements, more than double that of COP27. 

Energy Transition: Over 123 nations committed to tripling renewable energy generation capacity by 2030 and doubling the annual rate of energy efficiency improvements. The Industrial Transition Accelerator, backed by $30 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the COP Presidency, focuses on decarbonization solutions for heavy-emitting industries.

The COP28 Presidency launched the Net-Zero Transition Charter: Accountability Mobilization for the Private Sector, encouraging organizations to make public net-zero emissions pledges and targets, ensuring high integrity and quality, producing credible and transparent transition plans, and publishing periodic, accurate, complete, and transparent reporting on their progress.

Breakthrough Partnerships: The Breakthrough Agenda, involving 60% of global GDP, facilitates collaborations between advanced and emerging economies to boost low-carbon industrial products and support industrial transformation in developing nations.

Focus on Fossil Fuels: A coalition of 13 countries pledges to disclose fossil fuel subsidies, while major oil and gas companies commit to the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter, targeting net-zero operations by 2050.

Nature and Food Initiatives: Initiatives to transform food systems and protect ecosystems, including the FAO’s Global Roadmap and the Emirates Declaration, signal a commitment to addressing climate change and chronic hunger simultaneously.

Financing for Nature: A major report, ‘Finance For Nature,’ reveals that $7 trillion flowed to sectors harming nature in 2022, equivalent to 7% of global GDP. Efforts to conserve natural sinks and finance climate-nature projects have mobilized over $2.6 billion, with the private sector playing a central role.

Connecting COPs: The ‘COP28 UAE Joint Statement on Climate, Nature, and People‘ aims to enhance coordination between climate and biodiversity COPs, emphasizing the interconnectedness of environmental challenges.

Voluntary Carbon Markets: Voluntary Carbon Markets experienced a boost as banks, regulators, and standard setters actively supported initiatives to rejuvenate global carbon credit trading, addressing previous concerns surrounding credibility challenges.

The Loss and Damage Fund 

During COP27, an agreement was reached among governments to establish a new fund aimed at assisting particularly vulnerable developing nations in addressing loss and damage resulting from climate change. The formal establishment of this fund took place on November 30th, 2023, marking the inaugural day of COP28. Immediately following its adoption, several governments promptly pledged support to the newly formed fund.

The quick pledges indicated a strong desire to get the fund up and running quickly. Besides government promises, the fund is open to contributions from private sources, including possible announcements of support from philanthropic foundations.

To help keep track of pledges as they come in, NRDC have created a tracker for the loss and damage fund as well as five climate funds created under the UN climate convention. It explains briefly what each fund does and tallies pledges in recent years. 

View the tracker here.

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