The 28th session of the Conference of Parties (COP28) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change opened on Thursday in Dubai with a call to accelerate collective climate action.
The conference is taking place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a year that climate scientists say is the hottest ever in human history.
Experts also say the impacts of the climate crisis have wreaked unprecedented havoc on human life and livelihoods around the world.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the climate summit, attended by over 160 world leaders, including President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria, will run from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12.
The leaders are expected to take decisive action on climate commitments to prevent further impacts.
According to the UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell, the leaders must deliver a clear message to deepen cooperation and take actions to reverse climate impacts.
“COP28 cannot be just a photo-op. Leaders must deliver; the message is clear.
“And as leaders leave Dubai after the opening summit, their message to their negotiators must be equally clear: don’t come home without a deal that will make a real difference,” Stiell said.
NAN reports that the 2023 COP marks the conclusion of the “global stocktake,” which is the first assessment of the global progress made in implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The assessment, however, seemed stark, showing that the world is not on track to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C by the end of the century.
However, it recognises that countries are developing plans for a net-zero future, and the shift to clean energy is gathering speed.
The report has made it clear that the transition is nowhere near fast enough to limit global warming within our current ambitions.
A report recently published by UN Climate Change shows that national climate action plans would collectively lower greenhouse gas emissions to 2 per cent below the 2019 levels by 2030, while it is clear that a 43 per cent reduction is needed.
“The reality is that without much more finance flowing to developing countries, a renewables revolution will remain a mirage in the desert. COP28 must turn it into a reality,” Stiell added.
Climate financing still stands at the heart of the expected transformations.