Treat COP 28 ‘success’ with caution

It is a pity that the momentous COP 28 international conference which ended in Dubai on Wednesday of this week, focusing on finding ways to save Planet Earth, was overshadowed by the negative actions of those bent on genocide and hastening precisely what CoP was designed to prevent. Such was the emphasis of the international news media on the painful events in Gaza and to a lesser extent Ukraine, that the Dubai discussions had to take second place.

In the end, it is still to be welcomed that the delegates at the Conference were at least able to arrive at some agreement. The judgement on the outcome is still to be assessed, since there have been mixed emotions about the major announcements. In some quarters, the COP 28 agreement has been hailed as the “biggest advance” since the process began. This is based on the agreement in relation to the critical goal of eradicating the dependence and widespread use of fossil fuels as well as a concrete commitment towards financing what is called the “Loss and Damage Fund”.

While in general, these advances were welcomed, though to differing degrees, by developing countries like ours, it is important that we also be aware of the limitations and continue both to exercise caution and to unite our efforts to maintain and strengthen any advances made. For instance, after decades of failure there was at last concrete mention in the text of action on getting rid of our dependence on the pernicious “fossil fuels”, oil, gas and coal, as the basis of our energy needs. Yet, after the bitter verbal battles, climate activists and delegates from countries “on the climate change front line” such as our own, must be disappointed at the text. Rather than a clear commitment to “phase out” the use of fossil fuels, such is the strength of the oil lobby that what was agreed upon was “transitioning away” from such fuels rather than the more concrete “phasing out”.

Similarly, although the concrete commitment to the Loss and Damage Fund with not just empty pledges but contributions, was hailed as a victory for countries which are already suffering from the effects of climate change, both contributions and pledges, so far are far short of what is required. For instance, the United Nations estimates that approximately US$387 billion will be needed annually to adequately fund this programme, but at the Conference, while countries like conference host United Arab Emirates, Germany, Italy and France committed more than US$100 million each, only US$650 million has actually been committed. One of the world’s biggest polluting nations, the USA has committed only US$17.5 million, whilst it pours billions of dollars into the destructive wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Where are our priorities?

The message from the COP exercise is that first and foremost we must be consistent and determined in our efforts maintaining our alliances at regional and international levels. Whatever advances made, albeit far from satisfactory, have only been achieved on this basis. Finally, even more vigilance is needed to ensure that commitments are met given our experiences over the long COP journey.