Hits And Misses At COP28

In true UAE style, the road to COP was busy right towards the end. For those of us involved in the preparation of it, the mandate was to deliver an effective, action oriented, and most inclusive COP in history. As a resident of Dubai, owner of a Dubai headquartered sustainability focused venture building company, and advisor to ministries in the UAE, the Sustain Labs Paris team worked on the inclusion of People of Determination as well as Senior Citizens at COP28 and in public life in the UAE. We worked for several months with the UAE’s Ministry of Education to develop UAE’s Green Learning Curriculum that integrates sustainability and climate action in 14 curricula across all schools and universities in the UAE. The Curriculum was then launched by Sustain Labs Paris and the Ministry of Education at COP28.

In the run up, the COP Presidency was clear that the youth, senior citizens, and people of determination, were all to be included. Indeed ‒ as a first ever ‒ elated children in school uniforms thronged COP28 each day alongside groups of the elderly. There was tremendous focus on private sector participation ‒ the number of companies, startups, and corporate initiatives in clean energy that participated at COP28 was phenomenal, several of which were also Indian. The Business & Philanthropy Climate Forum at COP28 was a pioneering initiative that brought the business community into the Blue Zone where negotiations take place. Businesses such as oil and gas with hard- to- abate emissions were fully included because these businesses can either deliver or break commitments made by governments that have been in talks for 28 years. 

Progress for the planet 

During the negotiations there was considerable focus on adaptation. The final text retained the call for a doubling in adaptation finance and plans for monitoring of adaptation needs. It added into the text an explicit 2030 date for targets on water security, ecosystem restoration and   health. The final COP text also included an important mention of the importance of delivering a ‘just transition’.

There were a few tangible wins. Early into COP28, we saw the landmark agreement to launch the Loss and Damage Fund to support vulnerable nations facing the worst of climate change’s impacts. Another win at COP28 was the progress made on the New Collective Quantified Goal, which builds on the $100 billion pledged by developed nations for climate finance in developing nations. An agreement was arrived at to draft a post-2025 finance target ahead of COP29. 

The COP28 hosted the first ever global stocktake, a critical initiative to assess the state of the planet and chart a better course for the future. This was also the most scrutinised text at COP this year with fierce pushback on weak language towards fossil fuels. The final text was improved and mentioned peak global emissions between 2020-2025. Emissions reductions consistent with 1.5 C and net zero by 2050 were also made explicit in the text. The text also called on nations to take emissions reduction actions. It also stated the intention of accelerating and substantially reducing non-CO2 emissions globally, in particular methane emissions by 2030. The push to transition out of coal seemed weak with the statement referring to "efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal power." For fossil fuels use in energy systems, a “transition away” is called for rather than a “phase-out.” 

The road out of COP28 
The heightened focus on language of the COP text and the scrutiny of the oil & gas industry at COP28 demonstrates the persistent public mistrust towards industry to deliver on targets. Indeed, intergovernmental negotiations, resulting commitments that lead to national targets and policies have been a major push factor in humanity’s race to net zero. Yet, if industry’s moral compass and their understanding of climate science is set in place, then the nitty-gritty in the language of the COP text will be immaterial.  

Increasingly, the responsibility lies on industries to lead the transition to a thriving yet responsible economy. Industries will need to make the short from solely seeking shareholder value to value that is drawn from meeting ambitious commitments towards stakeholders that include people and the planet. There are several role models for this amongst businesses globally already such as Neste, Unilever and DSM. The mighty ADNOC, UAE’s national oil & gas company, is transitioning. In India we have Godrej Consumer Goods, TechMahindra, Wipro and Marico who consistently top Sustain Labs Paris’ study on India’s Most Sustainable Companies. Industry needs to pay attention to the science on climate change. Their actions need to be driven not by PR value, as was sadly the case for a large number of prominent businesses this year at the COP28 green zone. Ironically, never before have businesses put in more resources to showcase their might than in this year’s COP. This is unnecessary. Industries instead need to leverage their serious attention, action, and capital towards interventions that reduce greenhouse gases, to win the race to net zero. Industries with hard to abate emissions will need to work the hardest and will need the support from regulators, markets, and the general public, to do so.   

While there were substantial leaps taken at COP28, notably for being the most inclusive COP and making progress on loss and damage with an ambition to transition away from fossil fuels, the work now begins on implementation. There are also issues around the establishment of carbon credit markets that were not resolved at COP28. There was also a dire need for more mention of two ongoing wars and their disastrous impact. While intergovernmental negotiations are slow, there needed to be greater institutional focus by COP on catalysing civil society collaborations on climate action that can move at a much faster speed. And finally, stronger bridges need to be built between regulators and industry, with a scale up of climate focused education as pillars.  

However, scepticism is easy. Onward to making more progress (not PR) on the road to COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.  

The writer is CEO, Sustain Labs Paris