From Sharm el-Sheikh to Dubai: Learnings and Expectations from the Climate Conferences

Photo credit: @cop28uaeofficial

By Taís Serra Montani, Researcher at EmpoderaClima.

One of the most important and globally visible events in the climate field is coming up again: the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, COP28. Presided over by the United Arab Emirates and hosted in Dubai, it is an event with high expectations and an agenda involving topics such as climate financing, losses and damages, and high rates of greenhouse gas emissions.

The COPs, which are part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, have been taking place since 1995. The last COP was held in November 2022 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, with the expectation that it would be the COP of implementation - the conference where ideas would be taken off the drawing board and solutions would begin to be implemented - and the materialization of this implementation character divided many opinions at the end of the event. Furthermore, it was an important opportunity for countries from the Global South to take the lead in the climate debate and international negotiations, given the presidency of the Conference in question. We could say that this emphasis on the Global South was somewhat addressed through some of the resolutions we'll explore later, but there is still ample room for more progress!

During the second week of COP 27, the Gender Day took place, a day focused on discussions of gender and climate justice within the negotiation environment. It was a chance to emphasize the significance of women participating at all levels of action – locally, regionally, and globally – and to underscore their importance in shaping solutions and the uneven effects they encounter in the context of the climate crisis.

An important issue addressed at the last conference was climate financing through a gender lens. The issue of climate finance with a gender intersectionality perspective is very low when we emphasize the importance of recognizing this group as key to creating solutions. Only 0.01% of philanthropic climate financing is directed towards the intersection of gender and climate.

Climate finance was a significant focus at COP27 - addressing funds and income allocation, where the importance of having women in these discussions and directing resources toward the protection of women in the climate crisis became evident. This topic is not new in debates but gained a new dimension with the Loss and Damage Fund.

One of the key financing mechanisms negotiated at the COP in Egypt was the Loss and Damage Fund. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres mentioned that the creation of this fund was "an important step toward justice." This agreement will provide financial assistance to countries most vulnerable to climate disasters when they occur. The fund's structure - who will be the beneficiaries and responsible for keeping it up to date - is still being defined, and we can likely expect updates on the fund's status at COP28.

The last conference also managed to finalize the intermediate review of the Gender Action Plan (GAP - there's an original article about the plan here), which was initiated at the 56th Session of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies in 2022 (an event that takes place between COPs with technical climate discussions). Completing the review held great importance in not only outlining the subsequent actions for plan implementation And reinforce the need to address gender inequality in the ongoing debate. Additionally, the review introduced new activities within the plan's key areas, related to coherence and monitoring.

Regarding the negotiations, we must not forget that the representation of women in environmental conference spaces still needs to be significantly improved. In 2021, at COP26, 33% of the subsidiary bodies (country delegations) consisted of women. A noticeable increase was expected for the following year, but the reality was that only 34% of the delegations were composed of women.

Once again, there is hope for an event with greater active participation of women in the subsidiary bodies, allowing them to directly represent the challenges that gender inequality poses to the comprehensive fight against climate change.

We at EmpoderaClima have high expectations for the gender equality and diversity agenda at COP28. The role of women is essential at all levels of climate action, and this inclusion and active participation must be translated into action and fully implemented within the UNFCCC programs. With 27 editions of the Climate Conference behind us, there is no more time to address the climate crisis without involving 50% of the population.

Regarding more specific expectations for COP28, financial assistance for less developed countries is a prominent topic anticipated for the upcoming conference, with further details expected to emerge regarding the Loss and Damage Fund, for instance. Discussions on a just transition and the next steps for the GAP are also on the agenda, with plans to implement the revised points in the original plan and align strategies to create more effective responses. Furthermore, as always, it will be essential to review the maintenance of the global average temperature, which, in 2022, once again closed at 1.5°C.

For COP28, one of the top priorities is to conduct a "global stocktake." This stocktake is a process of analyzing how quickly nations are actually meeting the CO2 emissions reduction goals established since the Paris Agreement. The Global Stocktake could potentially be a turning point in what still appears to be unclear in terms of climate mitigation - a significant slowdown in emissions and the ability to envision a horizon with greater sustainable ambitions.

The UNFCCC has already provided various informative materials about the global stocktake and the expectations for the development of this plan for this year. You can read everything here!