Cop 28: Reflections - Scratching the surface and bridging the gap

To the uninitiated - COP is the main decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It includes representatives of all the countries that are signatories (or 'Parties') to the UNFCCC. UN Climate Change conferences (COPs) take place every year and are the world’s only multilateral decision-making forum on climate change with almost complete membership of every country in the world. ?To put it simply, the COP is where the world comes together to agree on ways to address the climate crisis, such as limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, helping vulnerable communities adapt to the effects of climate change, and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Who attends : Heads of state, business leaders, young people, climate scientists, Indigenous Peoples, journalists, and various other experts and stakeholders are also among the participants. The annual climate summit is an opportunity for party and non-party players to showcase solutions, raise their voices, and challenges, collaborate, and work together to humanity's most pressing challenge of climate change and environmental degradation.

Sessions in the Blue Zone are cast alive from the UNFCCC website - this can be accessed by anyone globally. The blue zone is where negotiations take place and can be accessed by party heads of state, party overflow,press and observers. Green Zone is where the host nation showcases solutions and can be accessed by anyone.

What is at stake? : Almost nothing we are doing can stop the runaway impacts of climate change accelerated by "development" which does not account for the earth's carrying capacity. The writing on the wall is clear. There is no one, yes no one, who is not feeling the impacts of climate change. Our lives are at stake.

Before we dive into Cop 28 we need to understand a little bit about Cop27 in Egypt. UN's twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties (COP27) was branded as the “Implementation COP” because of its potential to put the needs of developing countries center stage and bridge the gap between Global North and Global South countries. This was in a way the beginning of "just transition".

The establishment of a Loss and Damage Fund was, for many, the highlight of the United Nations Climate Conference (COP 27) and the culmination of decades of pressure from climate-vulnerable developing countries. The fund aims to provide financial assistance to nations most vulnerable and impacted by the effects of climate change. Funds for adaptation and mitigation fall short currently of the pledged 100 billion USD by 2030. UNEP's landmark studies such as the Emissions Gap Report and the Adaption Gap Report, provide critical information to policymakers around the world. Estimated annual adaptation needs are USD 160-340 billion by 2030 and USD 315-565 billion by 2050.

Moreover, while this fund is meant to reach the person impacted many countries in the global south suffer from corruption that ensures funds reaching the would be a fraction of what the amount disbursed. Many impacted stakeholders from small island nations, and vanishing coastlines are questioning how vulnerable communities do not have access to adaptation funds and find it difficult to even get access to calamity rehabilitation funds.

Resilient native indigenous communities with the right development models have an inherent knowledge of climate-resilient nature-based living. Fundamentally these communities have been sidelined from land, and livelihood to give way for so-called catastrophic urban expansions that are leading to accelerated impacts on global emissions.

What will be discussed at COP 28?

Discussions at COP 28 need to make progress in several workstreams:

1. Finalising the details of the loss and damage finance facility to help vulnerable communities deal with immediate climate impacts; especially developing countries including those in Africa, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and small island states.

2. Driving towards a global goal on finance that would help fund developing countries’ efforts in addressing climate change; accelerating both an energy and a just transition;

3. Closing the massive emissions gap. This is the closing window for humanity

In addition, the first-ever global stocktake will conclude at COP 28.

What is Global Stocktake?

In plain English it is taking stock of where we are and what we need to do. Global stocktake is an inclusive process and I had the opportunity to participate as a non-party stakeholder in one of the several consultations that happened in CoP 27 in Egypt. The idea in CoP 28 is for governments to make decisions to accelerate climate ambition and action for the next round of NDC action plans in 2025.

What next?

Fundamentally humanity is at crossroads - where the fundamental human right to a clean environment, and healthy living is compromised due to "development" and our choices today can help us face the challenges that lie ahead.

The challenge is that we are scratching the surface and the establishment of the loss and damage funds is a scary acknowledgment of our unstable planet that has crossed planetary boundaries. We have no choice but to adapt. However one thought that crosses my mind - a stitch in time saves nine and we are now at nine and more.

What can you do?

• Businesses need to decarbonize rapidly and adopt nature-based adaptations. Many resource-intensive businesses will be left with stranded assets and those who shy away from capex expenditure will lose out on accretive savings of energy transition.
• Individuals need to rethink what is life about and what gives happiness - most of the things that matter are zero or low carbon - people, exercise, creativity, community service, healthy food, walking, cycling, etc. Is it necessary to buy things to be happy? and if you do buy can we ensure that it does not harm the society or environment.
• Countries need to rethink the rural-urban development paradigm and instead of accelerated urbanization focus on strengthing the lives of rural and marginalized communities through nature-based solutions. Countries need to raise ambition

To bridge the gap we need to stop scratching the surface. We are hurtling towards the tipping point. I am scared and yet hopeful that human ingenuity will help us tide this cycle of nature. The involvement of the youth is palpable and gives me goosebumps. For they can look us in the eye and say "Please stop scratching the surface".