A global climate summit, with leaders from over 140 nations, commenced on Thursday in Dubai, the financial and technological hub of the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates, chairing the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) and being one of the world's major oil producers, aims to persuade the international community that a low-carbon future is attainable without completely divesting from fossil fuels.
Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, appointed president of COP28 this year, serves as the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and is also in charge of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). Al Jaber has emphasized the need for a responsible approach in reducing the use of hydrocarbons. While acknowledging the inevitability of phasing out conventional fuels, he prioritizes the application of modern technological solutions like carbon capture, utilization, and storage. This perspective, supported by other major oil-producing countries, may reveal fundamental disagreements among participants regarding the best approach to combat global warming.
Dubai is set to host over 70,000 delegates from various countries, including heads of state, representatives from major businesses, non-governmental organizations, researchers, experts, and journalists during the conference. This marks the largest number of participants in the history of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The event is scheduled to run until December 12.
Summit agenda
The primary objective for country delegations at the climate summit will be to assess the progress made toward achieving the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement. Adopted on December 12, 2015, after the 21st Conference of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the agreement commits participants to preventing the global average annual temperature from surpassing two degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels by 2100. Additionally, measures are to be implemented to limit warming to within 1.5 degrees Celsius.
At COP28, parties will initiate the first-ever Global Inventory of the Paris Agreement. This process is intended to formulate a high-level plan guiding the international community in achieving climate goals. Subsequently, governments will be required to incorporate this global plan into national policies and report progress back to the UN by 2025.
Another goal of the conference is to create the world's first climate goal fund to help countries that have already suffered irreparable damage from the effects of climate change, such as drought, flooding and rising sea levels. In the weeks before the summit, representatives from developed and developing countries agreed on a governance structure for the fund. In addition, the UAE government is expected to announce a $25 billion special fund to spur investment in clean energy in the early days of the conference.
Participation of world leaders
The conference, hosted at the Expo City Dubai exhibition center, will feature hundreds of events dedicated to combating climate change. A key component will be the high-level segment, scheduled for December 1 and 2. During these two days, heads of state and government will present national statements, articulating their countries' positions on issues such as ecology, food security, protection from natural disasters, green energy, and financial support for the least developed countries to address the impacts of climate change.
The high-level segment will commence with a speech by UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Delegations from other Middle Eastern countries will be led by prominent figures such as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt. Noteworthy attendees also include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
According to the official list of participants in the high-level segment distributed by the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, COP28 will be attended by several European leaders, including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Polish President Andrzej Duda, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
The conference will also see the participation of more than 30 African leaders, who view COP28 as an opportunity to align climate change goals with other continental aspirations, such as improving living standards and enhancing the resilience of countries to extreme weather.
Russian participation
The Russian delegation to COP28 will be led by Ruslan Edelgeriev, Presidential Special Envoy on Climate Issues. The delegation will also include Igor Shumakov, Head of Roshydromet, Vladimir Ilyichev and Ilya Torosov, Deputy Ministers of Economic Development of Russia, Sergey Anoprienko, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology, Kirill Komarov, Director of the Development and International Business Unit of Rosatom, and others.
Rosatom will participate in a series of events planned as part of the COP28 business program. One of the key events of the corporation's program will be the SNPP Day, an event dedicated to small nuclear power plants, scheduled on December 4.
On December 8, the Russian pavilion will host the Day of Atom for Future Generations. During this event, Rosatom executives and other industry representatives will discuss their vision of the role of nuclear technologies in ensuring the energy transition. They will also explore approaches to ensuring environmental responsibility in the use of nuclear technologies as part of the development of Arctic shipping.
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Photo: Martinschuschi/Pixabay
Based on materials from TASS