On 8 September, the United Nations released its Global Stocktake report on climate change. The report “enables countries and other stakeholders to see where they’re collectively making progress toward meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement – and where they’re not,” according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The report is the product of a two-year review of the world’s progress – or lack thereof – towards achieving the targets negotiated eight years ago in the Paris Agreement. Most notably, in 2015, the vast majority of the world’s nations agreed to take action to keep warming to no more than 2°C, with an aim to keep it under 1.5°.
The Global Stocktake will set the tone for discussions at the 28th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, commonly known as COP28, which will take place in the United Arab Emirates from 30 November to 12 December 2023. The report makes clear that “the world is not on track to meet the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement,” and states that “while action is proceeding, much more is needed now on all fronts.”
Each country that signed the Paris Agreement is responsible for developing and submitting its own Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). NDCs detail a country’s goals for reducing emissions and adapting to the impacts of climate change. The Global Stocktake report finds that, based on current NDCs that countries have committed to, there remains a gap of over 20 gigatonnes (20 billion tonnes) of CO2 emissions that must be eliminated if temperature rise is to stay under 1.5°C.
The report goes on to examine many of the top challenges that negotiators will face at COP28, including achieving emissions mitigation, adaptation efforts including loss and damage, and creating sufficient mechanisms for climate finance.
The United Arab Emirates has been criticized by a number of climate advocates for placing an oil executive in the role of President of COP28. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber is director of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. He is also the founder of Masdar, a renewable energy company that is deploying billions of dollars worth of clean energy infrastructure, including solar and wind.
In a letter signed by 133 members of the United States Congress and European Parliament, signatories wrote, “The decision to name as president of COP28 the chief executive of one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies—a company that has recently announced plans to add 7.6 billion barrels of oil to its production in the coming years, representing the fifth largest increase in the world—risks undermining the negotiations.”
Despite this controversy, Dr. Al Jaber has called on “leaders from both the public and private sector to come to COP28 with real and actionable commitments to address climate change. We need to rapidly decarbonize both the supply side and demand side of the energy system at the same time,” he said.
The Global Stocktake report is yet another clear signal to the world that waiting to take meaningful and decisive climate action is no longer an option. Each day that goes by increases the damage we are doing to the planet and makes it more difficult and more expensive to correct.
