COP28 opened Thursday in Dubai with calls from its organizers to no longer avoid the debate on fossil fuels, while awaiting a first crucial decision to materialize a compensation fund for climate losses and damage in vulnerable countries.
“These next two weeks will not be easy,” warned COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber, opening the 28e United Nations climate change conference in a ceremony in front of delegates from nearly 200 countries.
At the edge of the desert, in Dubai, the site of the 2020 Universal Exhibition becomes for two weeks the beating heart of climate diplomacy, with the Emirates and the UN hoping for a COP as historic as that of Paris in 2015.
A sign that the conflict between Israel-Hamas is occupying people’s minds, the president of the previous conference, Sameh Choukri, head of Egyptian diplomacy, called at the start of the ceremony for a short moment of silence for “all the civilians who died in the current conflict in Gaza.
The first major decision expected from this conference with record attendance should be the implementation of the new fund to compensate for climate-related losses and damage, after a year of very tense negotiations between countries of the North and the South.
“The work is far from finished,” however, reacted the alliance of small island states (AOSIS) in advance. “We will not rest until this fund is properly funded and begins to ease the burden on vulnerable communities.”
It remains to be seen how much will be allocated to this fund, which will initially be hosted by the World Bank. Adoption would pave the way for developed countries to announce the first financial pledges.
The European Union, Germany, France, Denmark and the United Arab Emirates are supposed to commit to a few hundred million dollars in initial investments by Saturday, according to negotiators interviewed by AFP.
But “we expect promises in billions, not millions,” urged Rachel Cleetus, of the American group Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
” Last phase “
This early adoption would free delegates to focus on other battles on the agenda, starting with fossil fuels.
Also chief executive of national oil company ADNOC, Sultan Al Jaber, stepped in by calling for “the role of fossil fuels” to be mentioned in any final deal, as he comes under fire after publication by the BBC and the Center for Climate Reporting of internal notes preparing for official meetings which list arguments for promoting ADNOC projects abroad. He rejected the accusations on Wednesday.
UN Climate chief Simon Stiell was even more blunt: “If we do not signal the end of the fossil era as we know it, we are preparing for our own terminal decline.”
At the same time, the World Meteorological Organization confirmed that 2023 was expected to be the hottest year on record, with “a deafening cacophony of broken records.” »
Shadow of the Israel-Hamas conflict
More than 97,000 people (delegations, media, NGOs, lobbies, organizers, technicians, etc.) are accredited, twice as many as last year, and around 180 heads of state and government are expected according to the organizers by December 12, theoretical end of the conference.
Pope Francis, suffering from the flu, has canceled his visit, but more than 140 leaders will parade to the podium Friday and Saturday, after the ceremonial opening day Thursday, for speeches lasting a few minutes intended to give political impetus to the Byzantine negotiations which will occupy the delegations for two weeks.
King Charles III will speak on Friday at the opening of this summit of leaders, without American President Joe Biden, replaced by his Vice-President Kamala Harris, nor his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog will take the opportunity to lead a series of diplomatic meetings aimed at freeing other hostages held by Hamas, his office said.
He might even bump into Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, as they are scheduled to speak within minutes of each other on Friday.
On the climate front, the Emiratis are preparing an inaugural flood of voluntary commitments from States to, for example, triple renewables by 2030 or boost financial aid from rich countries to the most vulnerable.
But only the official texts adopted during the COP, in the meticulous UN process where consensus is obligatory, will have a force comparable to what the Paris agreement was.