COP28 entered its second day in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Friday December 1. After a promising introduction, this second day was marked by the intrusion of the Israel-Hamas conflict into the debate.
Behind the smiles in the family picture taken in sunny Dubai, disagreements over oil remain profound: more than 140 world leaders are at COP28 on Friday to break the climate paralysis, but the turning point is far from certain.
Gaza Takes Center Stage
The Israel-Hamas conflict has overshadowed the gathering, sometimes overshadowing climate issues.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog had travelled to Dubai to plead with his counterparts for the release of the hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip.
However, he left before his turn at the podium as hostilities resumed with Hamas on Friday.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raissi cancelled his appearance because Israel had been invited to take part, according to an official media report, and his delegation left COP28 in protest.
Among other leaders who devoted part of their brief speeches to the conflict in Gaza, King Abdullah II of Jordan declared that it was not possible “to talk about climate change in isolation from the humanitarian tragedies around us.”
“We are talking here about climate inclusiveness, let’s be inclusive for the most vulnerable,” he said, citing the Palestinians in Gaza and people affected by conflicts around the world.
Cacophony Over Fossil Fuels
One after another, presidents and monarchs took note of the extreme climate conquering the Earth and the collective apathy in the face of global warming. Most were content to reiterate their existing climate commitments, virtually none of which are in line with the Paris Agreement, with no U-turn announced by opponents of a move away from fossil fuels.
“The science is clear: the 1.5°C limit is tenable only if we finally stop burning all fossil fuels,” said UN Secretary General António Guterres.
The increasing burning of fossil fuels since the 19th century is taking us towards an unbearable temperature rise of almost 3°C by 2100.
Between now and the end of the conference, scheduled for 12 December, more than 170 leaders are expected to attend, according to Sultan Al Jaber, President of COP28.
An Explosive Paragraph
Alongside the leaders’ speeches, more than 130 countries pledged on Friday to prioritize food and agriculture, which are responsible for around a third of greenhouse gas emissions but are usually largely absent from COPs in their national plans to combat climate change.
This is the first of the major voluntary commitments made by States outside the UN process. The Emirates want to catalyze this from the start of the conference to give a positive impetus to the real negotiations.
COP28 also got off to a successful start on Thursday, with the historic creation of a fund to compensate vulnerable countries for the loss and damage caused by climate change, something they have been calling for for decades.
The first pledges amount to around 500 million dollars, following the announcement on Friday of a contribution of 100 million euros from Italy.
However, these pledges are only a starting point for the fund to begin operations at the beginning of 2024, which is still far short of the hundreds of billions needed.
Behind this positive signal, which is essential to ease tensions between North and South, everything remains to be done.
A working document for the final agreement, published on Friday morning, asks countries to decide on a “reduction” or “phase-out” of fossil fuels. This is undoubtedly the paragraph that will be the most hotly debated over the next few days.
Malo Pinatel, with AFP
