By Katalina Siasau

“Whilst we didn’t turn the page on the fossil fuel era in Dubai, this outcome is the beginning of the end,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell in his closing speech, as COP28 concluded, on Tuesday, 12 December, at Expo City Dubai.

Negotiators from nearly 200 Parties came together with a decision on the world’s first ‘global stocktake’, said the UN Climate Change News.

It highlighted the need to boost climate action before the end of the decade, with the overarching aim to keep the global temperature limit of 1.5°C within reach.

“Now all governments and businesses need to turn these pledges into real-economy outcomes, without delay,” said Stiell.

Global stocktake

The global stocktake is considered the central outcome of COP28. It contains every element that was under negotiation and can now be used by countries to develop stronger climate action plans due by 2025.

The stocktake recognises that global greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut 43% by 2030, to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

However, it notes that Parties are off track when it comes to meeting their Paris Agreement goals.

The stocktake calls on Parties to take actions towards achieving, at a global scale, a tripling of renewable energy capacity, and doubling energy efficiency improvements by 2030.

The list also includes accelerating efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal power, phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, and other measures that drive the transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly, and equitable manner, with developed countries continuing to take the lead.

The operationalisation of the loss and damage fund and funding arrangements, is the first time a substantive decision was adopted on the first day of the conference.

Commitments to the fund started coming in moments after the decision, totalling more than USD $700 million to date, which will catalyse technical assistance to developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Looking ahead

The negotiations on the ‘enhanced transparency framework’ at COP28 laid the ground for a new era of implementing the Paris Agreement.

UN Climate Change is developing the transparency reporting and review tools for use by Parties, which were showcased and tested at COP28. The final versions of the reporting tools should be made available to Parties by June 2024.

COP28 also saw Parties agree to Azerbaijan as host of COP29 from 11-22 November 2024, and Brazil as COP30 host from 10-21 November 2025.

At COP29, governments must establish a new climate finance goal, reflecting the scale and urgency of the climate challenge.

And at COP30, they must come prepared with new nationally determined contributions that are economy-wide, cover all greenhouse gases and are fully aligned with the 1.5°C temperature limit.

“We must get on with the job of putting the Paris Agreement fully to work,” said Stiell. “In early 2025, countries must deliver new nationally determined contributions. Every single commitment, on finance, adaptation, and mitigation, must bring us in line with a 1.5-degree world.”