Steill made this call to leaders ahead of the opening of COP28 tomorrow in Dubai in a statement by the UNFCCC on Wednesday evening.
The conference which will hold from November 30 to December 12, 2023, aims to address the climate crisis by agreeing on ways to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
The Conference of Parties is an annual event by the UNFCCC with a near-universal membership of 198 parties and is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement.
The UNCC ES said, “Over 160 world leaders are headed to Dubai because only cooperation between nations can get humanity back in this race. But COP28 cannot be just a photo-op. Leaders must deliver – the message is clear.
“And as leaders leave Dubai after the opening summit, their message to their negotiators must be equally clear: don’t come home without a deal that will make a real difference.”
On December 1-2, the World Climate Action Summit, hosted by the President of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will convene Heads of State or Government on when the first part of the COP28 high-level segment will also take place.
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday departed Abuja for Dubai to attend the conference.
In a statement signed by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu would “deliver a national statement highlighting Nigeria’s stance on various thematic issues, including renewable energy and climate financing” and remind “developed countries of their public pledge to provide $100bn annually for support to localised initiatives to address climate change-related challenges.”
The WCAS provides Heads of State or Government with the opportunity to set the stage for COP28, build on decisions from previous Conferences of the Parties, raise climate commitments and promote coordinated action to tackle climate change.
According to the statement, 2023 is the hottest year ever recorded in human history with the impacts of the climate crisis wreaking havoc on human lives and properties, globally.
“This year’s COP marks the conclusion of the “global stocktake”, the first assessment of global progress in implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement. The findings are stark: the world is not on track to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C by the end of this century. It does recognize that countries are developing plans for a net-zero future, and the shift to clean energy is gathering speed, but it makes clear that the transition is nowhere near fast enough yet to limit warming within the current ambitions.
“The global stocktake must be a catalyst for greater ambition in meeting the Paris Agreement’s goals as nations prepare to submit revised national climate action plans by 2025. It lays out actions on how to accelerate emissions cuts, strengthen resilience to climate impacts, and provide the support and finance needed for the transformation,” it read in part.
To meet the 2030 temperature reduction goal, climate finance was at the heart of this transformation.
“The reality is that without much more finance flowing to developing countries, a renewables revolution will remain a mirage in the desert. COP28 must turn it into a reality,” Stiell added.
COP28 also aimed to checkmate the progress on climate and to lay the groundwork for a “’New Collective Quantified Goal’ for climate finance, which must be in place next year. It will also set the stage for a just and inclusive transition to renewable energy and the phasing out of fossil fuels.”
In the face of rising conflicts and tensions worldwide, Stiell emphasised the need for collaborative efforts to combat climate change, describing it as an area where nations can work together effectively to ensure a sustainable future for people and the planet.
On his part, the COP28 president, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, said, “We don’t have any time to waste. We need to take urgent action now to reduce emissions. At COP28, every country and every company will be held to account, guided by the north star of keeping 1.5°C within reach.
“All parties should be prepared to deliver a high-ambition decision in response to the global stocktake that reduces emissions while protecting people, lives and livelihoods.”
The Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs and COP27 President Sameh Shoukry urged leaders to build on previous achievements, implement reached agreements and deliver on climate justice, stating, “and provide the needed tools that we already agreed upon in Sharm el-Sheikh for funding loss and damage, including the establishment of a fund. One of the major outcomes that has to come out of COP28 is for the fund to be fully operationalised and funded.”
