COP28 begins in Dubai

More than 70,000 delegates from around the globe now gather in Dubai, the hub of finance, trade and tourism in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on November 30 to attend the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), the UN conference tasked with addressing one of the most pressing challenges facing planet Earth: climate change.

With global temperatures hitting record highs and extreme weather events affecting people around the globe, the UN describes this year's COP28 as "a pivotal opportunity to correct course and accelerate action to tackle the climate crisis."

What is COP28?

COP28 is the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

In the three decades since the Rio Summit and the UNFCCC launch, the parties' conference has convened every year to determine ambitions and responsibilities related to climate change and assess climate measures.

The previous session, COP27, was held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. An agreement to establish a "loss and damage" fund was then hailed as a major breakthrough.

COP21 in 2015 led to the Paris Agreement, the landmark climate treaty that mobilizes collective action to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The event in Dubai, UAE, will last from November 30 to December 12 as representatives, including government officials, business leaders and civil society groups from about 200 countries and regions, gather to push for aid and effective action to tackle the amplifying consequences of global warming.

Why is COP28 important?

Climate disasters across the world this year have warned us once again of the urgency of addressing climate change.

In July, the world's hottest month on record, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the era of global warming has ended and "the era of global boiling has arrived."

COP28 will be a milestone moment as it will respond to the first-ever global stocktake of the Paris Agreement.

As a mechanism created under the Paris Agreement, the global stocktake requires that countries assess their climate measures every five years. The outcome provides input for new nationally determined contributions of parties.

Reports on the stocktake so far have shown that while the Paris Agreement has spurred action on climate change, current policies and promises to cut greenhouse gas emissions are not sufficient.

As delegates in the UAE will assess how far off track they are from meeting the promises to stop global warming, COP28 is expected to be a pivotal opportunity to correct course and accelerate action.

Thematic programs

Dubai is hosting COP28 in its Expo City, and there are two main sites for the events – the Blue Zone and the Green Zone.

The UN-managed Blue Zone is open to accredited delegates, and it hosts formal negotiations as well as the World Climate Action Summit and country pavilions.

The Green Zone, managed by the COP28 UAE presidency, offers a platform for non-accredited delegates from youth groups, NGOs, the private sector and indigenous groups to have their voices heard.

Scheduled thematic programs cover key climate-related issues, including fast-tracking a just, orderly and equitable energy transition and delivering funds for climate action.

Events that focus on putting nature, lives and livelihoods at the center of climate action and mobilizing for the most inclusive COP are also on the agenda.

Sticking points

It is hoped that COP28 will help keep alive the goal of limiting long-term global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as was agreed in the Paris Agreement.

Achieving this goal depends largely on an effective transition from fossil fuels to clean energy sources.

However, countries remain divided over how to tackle the unsustainable use of fossil fuels, and the pace of shifting to green energy sources will be a hot topic for discussion and negotiation.

In the meantime, while the need to provide financial assistance to nations most vulnerable to and most impacted by the effects of climate change has been agreed upon, the fulfillment of financial commitments remains incomplete.

At COP28, climate finance and the transfer of "loss and damage" funds will likely be another thorny issue.

(With input from Xinhua)