Was COP28 the PR COP?

Watching from the region, the 28th Conference of the Parties, was a typical UAE affair. The event, where the UN corrals governments together to agree on the collective approach to take on the issue of climate change, ended over a week ago. There was the build up, much of which was fixated on how the COP28 President-Elect had another day job, as head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (with the question being, "how are these two roles compatible?").

The first day of the summit got off to a roaring start, with the announcement of an adaptation fund to address loss and damage. By the end of the two weeks, the fund had attracted over US$770 million in pledges (the US promised US$17.5 million).

Other newsworthy announcements included a deal agreed by 130 countries to triple the world's installed renewable energy efficiency capacity to at least 11,000GW by 2030 and double energy efficiency, from 2% to 4%.

There were announcements on sustainable food production (the aptly-named Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate). Other agreements and declarations followed.

The big one was the COP28 outcome document, which included language on "transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner ... so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science."

This statement made headlines globally as it was the first time that any COP agreement had mentioned fossil fuels, in particular the pledge to move away from them. Many hope that this phrasing will mark the end of our reliance on fossil fuels. In a PR move, the Presidency labelled this agreement the "UAE Consensus".

Coming back to the present, over 85,000 participants attended COP28, which made the event the biggest in its history. Much of the two weeks outside of the Blue Zone where governmental negotiations were happening focused on companies telling their own sustainability stories. On some days it felt as if everyone in Dubai was attending a dozen or more talks.

Judging by this activity, you'd be forgiven for thinking that we are very much on track to keep climate change below a rise of 1.5 degrees on pre-industrial levels. However, the truth is harder to digest. Boston Consulting Group's research from this year found that only 14 percent of corporations had reduced their carbon emissions in line with their own company goals over the past five years. Even more striking, only one in every ten firms had accurately measured progress.

Behind all of the talks and discussions, in both the Blue and Green Zones (the area for events, exhibits, workshops and cultural performances), there was an army of PR people working on talking points, presentations, and Q&As. Over the past week I've seen post after post calling out their work. I cannot recall seeing as many posts after COP26 in Glasgow or COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh.

Admittedly, I'm in the Gulf and I'm linked to many people who attended COP28. However, it seemed as if this year was more commercial than any other COP. It also appeared that many firms saw the event as an opportunity to burnish their own green credentials (this was reflected in the sponsorship opportunities on offer) .

As a comms professional, it may seem counterintuitive to question looking at COP28 as an opportunity to talk about sustainability. However, the reality is we are off track when it comes to climate change and sustainability. And this gap is widening. Reputations should be built on what we do, not just what we say. And this issue is too important to spin, especially when we are so far off our goals.

Instead of flying in for a climate event to engage in dialogues or roundtables (anyone talk about carbon offsetting for their travels?), I'd prefer to see action rather than talk. And use the outcomes of those actions on carbon emissions as the story once we've hit our goals. Anything else could be construed as greenwashing. To quote from the COP28 President, "We are what we do, not what we say... If we unite in action, we can have a profoundly positive effect on all our futures."