Why is it in the News?

COP28: The annual climate conference this year saw some key resolutions on fossil fuels, methane emissions, and funds to fight global warming, among others. However, many concerns remain.

Context:

• The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also referred to as COP28 took place from November 30 to December 12 at Expo City in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
• While the event yielded significant outcomes, it, akin to its predecessors, fell short of meeting the anticipated expectations.

Key Outcomes of COP28:

• Fossil Fuel Transition Ambiguity: Acknowledging the role of fossil fuels in global warming for the first time, the agreement calls for countries to contribute to transitioning away from fossil fuels to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
  • However, the lack of specific time schedules and targets disappointed some nations that expected a more explicit commitment to a "fossil fuel phase-out."
• Renewable Energy Tripling: The agreement calls on countries to contribute to tripling the global installed capacity of renewable energy and doubling annual improvements in energy efficiency.
  • This measure is expected to result in emissions avoidance of approximately 7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030.
  • However, the global nature of this target raises questions about individual country responsibilities.
• Coal Phase-Down Continuation: The agreement reiterates the commitment to the phase-down of coal, following up on the decision made at COP26.
  • While there were considerations to impose restrictions on new coal-fired power plants without carbon capture and storage, these were dropped due to resistance from countries like India, China, and South Africa.
  • The agreement lacks specifics on measurement criteria or baseline for this phase-down.
• Methane Emission Challenges: Despite the significance of methane as a greenhouse gas, responsible for nearly 25% of emissions and is 80 times more potent than CO2, the agreement avoids setting targets for methane emission cuts in 2030.
  • Countries like India are opposed to mandates due to the agricultural sector's major role in methane emissions.
• Operational Loss & Damage Fund: A significant outcome for vulnerable nations, COP28 operationalized the Loss and Damage Fund, established in COP27.
  • Commitments, totaling around US$ 800 million, were made during the conference to assist countries recovering from climate-induced disasters.
• Global Goal on Adaptation Establishment: COP28 adopted a global framework for adaptation, addressing a historic imbalance where adaptation efforts received less attention and resources compared to mitigation activities.
  • The framework, though established, lacks financial provisions, necessitating further strengthening in subsequent years.
• Adaptation Challenges: While the global adaptation framework is a positive step, there is still work to be done, particularly in defining indicators for measuring progress on each global goal.
  • Adaptation efforts historically focused on local initiatives, and the agreement aims to garner more attention and resources for these endeavours on a global scale.
• Climate Action Acceleration Shortcomings: The final agreement falls short of providing sufficient impetus for the acceleration of climate action in the immediate term.

What is the Conference of the Parties (COP)?

• In 1992, Rio Earth Summit, 154 countries joined an international treaty, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as a framework for international cooperation to combat climate change by limiting average global temperature increases and the resulting climate change, and coping with impacts that were, by then, inevitable.
• The COP is the supreme decision-making body of the Convention.
• All States that are Parties to the Convention are represented at the COP, at which they review the implementation of the Convention and any other legal instruments that the COP adopts and take decisions necessary to promote the effective implementation of the Convention, including institutional and administrative arrangements.
• Currently, there are 198 'parties' or signatories of the Convention.