COP28 summit tries today to finalize early deal on climate damage fund

Sultan Al Jaber، the COP28 president and CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.، opens today Thursday to December 12 the biggest climate talks ever، in Dubai as countries at the U.N.'s climate summit hope to clinch an early deal on a new fund to pay for climate caused damage، aiming to muster some political goodwill before talks turn to divisive topics including the future of fossil fuels.

The world’s slide toward environmental catastrophe، global chaos and record heat

Sultan Al Jaber، the COP28 president، welcomes attendees who arrive for the opening of U.N.'s climate summit in Dubai، United Arab Emirates، today November 30، 2023، with more than 70 thousand politicians، diplomats، campaigners، financiers and business leaders who fly to Dubai to talk about arresting the world’s slide toward environmental catastrophe، global chaos and record heat.

Sultan Al Jaber، the president of COP28، announced that the biggest climate talks ever confront global chaos and record heat as the need for progress has never been more urgent: 2023 will almost certainly be the hottest year on record، greenhouse gas emissions are still rising، and promises to cut pollution remain insufficient to take the risk of unmanageable warming off the table. 

The phase out of the world's use of CO2-emitting coal، oil and gas

Sultan Al Jaber، the COP28 president expects nearly 70 thousand delegates to attend COP28 and descend on the gleaming Emirati city of Dubai، as governments are preparing for marathon negotiations on whether to agree، for the first time، to phase out the world's use of CO2-emitting coal، oil and gas، while the world confront at the same time، rapid inflation and global instability، including wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip، that have scrambled the politics and economics of the energy transition.

Sultan Al Jaber، president of COP28 revealed that with finance also high on the meeting agenda، the United Arab Emirates' COP28 presidency published a proposal on the eve of the summit، for countries to adopt a new U.N. climate damage fund - raising hopes among some delegates that this could be among the first deals struck in Dubai as the burning of these fuels is the main cause of climate change.

The fund to help vulnerable nations cope with the cost of climate-driven damage

The draft deal، which representatives from developed and developing countries painstakingly crafted during months-long negotiations this year، would launch a fund to help vulnerable nations cope with the cost of climate-driven damage from drought، floods and rising seas، according to Sultan Al Jaber، president of COP28 who said that some diplomats hope it would pass without objections as opening these negotiations is like opening Pandora's box and that wouldn't be useful for anyone.

Bloomberg reported that the annual United Nations summit from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 takes place as the world is poised to shatter another record for the hottest year in 2023، and as reports confirm countries' climate pledges are not enough to avert the worst impacts of global warming.

Phasing out global consumption of fossil fuels

Among the decisions nations must make in the gleaming، high-tech city of Dubai will be whether to agree، for the first time، to gradually "phase out" global consumption of fossil fuels and replace them with sources including solar and wind، as Sultan Al Jaber، president of COP28 explained.

Establishing the climate damage fund would pave the way for wealthy countries to put money into it، with leaders from nations including Germany، Denmark and the Netherlands expected to announce contributions early in the COP، and the European Union has pledged a "substantial" contribution، but wants countries whose economies have boomed in recent decades، like China and the UAE، to follow suit.

Aiming to secure several hundred million U.S. dollars for the climate damage fund

Adnan Amin، CEO of the COP28 summit، told Reuters this month the aim was to secure several hundred million U.S. dollars for the climate damage fund during the event and he was "hopeful" that the UAE would make a contribution، as a breakthrough on the climate damage fund، which poorer nations have demanded for years،  could help grease the wheels for other compromises.

Wopke Hoekstra، EU  Climate Commissioner، assured at COP28 summit، that everyone with the ability to pay should contribute، and he wanted to "broaden the donor base beyond the usual suspects، simply because that reflects the reality of 2023، still، heading into the summit، countries are split between European nations and climate-vulnerable states demanding an agreement to replace fossil fuels with clean energy in the coming decades، and oil and gas producers seeking to preserve a role for traditional energy sources.

How to curb global warming at this year's COP28 climate change summit

Sultan Al Jaber، president of COP28، thinks that  countries will for the first time assess how far off track they are to curb global warming at this year's COP28 climate change summit، a process known as the "global stocktake"، while governments will look at progress so far as well as what action is still needed to get the world on track as the aim is to yield a plan by the end of the two-week U.N. conference in Dubai، while the assessment could become politically divisive as it sets the stage for the next few years of global action in cutting planet-warming emissions.

Each country sets its own targets and policies for meeting the 2015 Paris Agreement's overall goal of holding global warming to within 2 degrees Celsius of preindustrial times، and aiming for just 1.5 C of warming، as countries، under the 2015 pact، must gauge their progress as of this year، and then every five years afterwards and based on the results، countries may be pressed to set more ambitious climate policies or to contribute more financing to help developing countries adopt clean energy.

Sultan Al Jaber، president of COP28، believes that delegates will also need to decide if the stocktake should recommended action for specific sectors، such as the energy or manufacturing sectors، as the U.N.'s report in September urged countries to cut CO2-emitting coal power by 67% to 82% from 2019 levels by 2030، and the report also called for more finance to help poorer countries adopt clean energy، and noted that billions of dollars were still being invested in fossil fuels every year، as well as see where are the gaps between the targets and the world ambitions، as well as the actual action.