The climate emergency is a direct consequence of carbon-heavy land-use and agriculture, transport, buildings and industrial processes and polluting energy sources. Without profound changes to these sectors and a drastic cut to carbon footprints, there is little hope of protecting the planet from the devastating effects of a warmer world.
Below are climate-related news and events from the United Nations and partners.
2023 is set to be the warmest year on record according to a new climate report. The World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) Provisional State of the Global Climate report, launched today, also reveals that the past nine years have been the warmest on record, highlighting the ever increasing effects of the climate crisis.
United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres was clear on the intensity of the crisis: “we are living through climate collapse in real time – and the impact is devastating,” he said in a video statement accompanying the launch of the report.
It is not just temperature records that are being broken with the report revealing that atmospheric concentrations of heat-trapping carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide also reached record highs last year.
WMO said that carbon dioxide levels are 50 per cent above the pre-industrial era and that the gas’s long lifetime “means that temperatures will continue to rise for many years to come”.
As delegates arrive in Dubai for the first day of COP28, the world is hoping there will be concrete breakthroughs during the conference.
COP28 is now opening in Dubai, ushering in 12 days of what is hoped will be a productive climate conference.
World leaders, business luminaries and civil society members are descending on Dubai today for the opening of the United Nations’ annual climate change conference (COP28). The nearly two-week-long summit will look to address some of the most-pressing issues related to what experts say is a rapidly accelerating climate crisis.
A key moment at COP28 will be the conclusion of the first Global Stocktake, a process that will see the world gauge what progress has been made towards meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement – and where countries are falling short.
So, what else needs to happen in Dubai?
The UNEP Pavilion officially opens today at 15.00 UAE time, featuring UNEP’s Executive Director, Inger Andersen, singer Rocky Dawuni and UNEP’s chief digital officer, Golestan Radwan.
Throughout COP28, the UNEP Pavilion will showcase solutions to the climate crisis and sheds light on the role of robust science and data, transparency, and the importance of leaving no one behind.
Every morning, we will be posting previews of the day's events at the UNEP Pavilion and across the COP.
When leaders gather this week in Dubai for COP28, they will be urged to sign a pact to broaden access to a range of sustainable cooling services and technologies, a push that comes with 2023 poised to become the hottest year on record.
The Global Cooling Pledge, led by COP28 host the United Arab Emirates, is designed to make things like air conditioners, deep freezers and heat-dissipating homes more affordable, especially in developing countries, while reining in planet-warming emissions from the sprawling cooling sector.
Why? Cooling is already responsible for more than seven per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and demand for cooling is expected to triple by 2050. That is troubling news for a planet on track to warm 3°C by century’s end, twice the most ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director, Inger Andersen, has issued a call for concerted climate action on the eve of COP28.
In an op-ed in the influential Washington D.C.-based newspaper, The Hill, Andersen underlined the need for increased climate adaptation finance to the most vulnerable communities: "There is a clear moral and climate justice imperative to protect the people least responsible for the climate crisis. There is also a clear economic case for investing in adaptation now to minimize future costs."
Andersen also called for progress on the Loss and Damage Fund and the Global Goal on Adaptation, both issues set to take centre stage at COP28.
UNEP's COP28 Pavilion will open on Thursday, November 30, ushering in 12 days of events and panel discussions about the most pressing climate and environmental topics humanity faces.
Each of the 12 thematic days's events will be available to view on a live webcast at the Pavilion website here.
We will also be featuring a preview of each day's key events every morning here as well as the latest news from Dubai.
A photo exhibition highlighting those on the front lines of climate change will take place during COP28. Loss and Damage in Focus: 10 Years of the Warsaw International Mechanism features three UNEP photos.
The exhibition will officially launch on 1 December at 6.30pm in side event room 2 of the Blue Zone across from Meeting Room 8. Visitors can also drop by the exhibition anytime during COP28.
Every COP has a Green Zone and a Blue Zone but it’s sometimes confusing what happens where and what the difference is.
In short, the Green Zone is open to everyone, the public (if they have tickets), delegates and guests of the Blue Zone, the public and private sector and NGOs.
The Blue Zone is managed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and hosts the formal negotiations that take place across the two week COP process. The Blue Zone is only open to accredited party and observer delegates.
COP28 will be held in Dubai this year at Expo City where the Blue Zone and Green Zone will be right next to each other.
Climate finance will be a key topic of discussion during COP28, with pressure growing on developed countries to implement the US$100 billion year in climate finance promised to developing countries at COP15 back in 2010.
As highlighted in UNEP's recent Adaptation Gap Report, the current adaptation finance gap is now estimated to be US$194-366 billion per year. It also found that adaptation finance needs of developing countries are 10-18 times as big as international public finance flows. This is over 50 per cent higher than the previous range estimate.
Another key finance-related topic at COP28 is the Loss and Damage Fund, which refers to the unavoidable impacts of climate change that go beyond what communities can adapt to.
There hope that countries will agree on the scale and source of funding and start releasing funds to the countries most effected by the climate crisis.
UNEP will publish its State of Finance for Nature Report during COP28 which will highlight finance short flows when it comes to sustainable land use.
It requires fundamental shifts in the incentives provided by governments, such as through fiscal policies and trade agreements, as well as the will to act by agribusinesses, traders and financiers towards nature- and climate- positive land use.
Yet, current finance flows to Nature-based Solution are US$200 billion, only a third of levels needed to reach climate, biodiversity and land degradation targets.
Find out more about UNEP's work on climate finance here.
