COP 28 Opening

This year’s COP is not free of controversy. 

COP 28 will be the biggest ever, with a whopping 70,000 people expected to attend. The growing scale and complexity of the conference are considered unnecessary, unsustainable, and counterproductive by experts. 

There has been backlash over the conference being held in one of the world’s top oil-producing countries. Furthermore, the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) has appointed the chief of its state oil company as president of the conference, which has not helped to debunk greenwashing accusations. 

Furthermore, prior to the event, the BBC reported that the UAE plans to use its role as a host of the conference to strike oil and gas deals with country delegates. The UAE has not countered this claim. Should this COP fail to deliver a substantial outcome the credibility of the event will take a significant blow. 

In a year with consecutive record heat waves and wildfires in America and Europe, widespread flooding across equatorial regions, and a continued rapid loss of biodiversity, all caused or exacerbated by climate change, the disruptive effects of the climate crisis are being felt around the globe. 

According to recent estimations, the world is on track for well over 2.4°C of warming by the end of the century. This year’s COP must deliver action and a real sense of urgency. It's been said many times before but, 28 years on, it really is time for the nations of the world to deliver.