Tackling the climate challenge and building consensus for action – written at the opening of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

From November 30 to December 12, the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

It is understood that this conference will continue and deepen the theme of "joint implementation" of the previous conference, with about 80,000 people participating, including heads of state or prime ministers, negotiators, activists, entrepreneurs, etc., making it the largest climate conference in history.

How the convening of the conference will inject new momentum into global climate governance has attracted the attention of all parties.

Global warming is still accelerating

On November 17, two weeks before COP28 began, data monitored by the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service showed that the average global surface temperature was 2.06 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

From the end of COP27 in 2022 to the beginning of COP28 in 2023, the earth has witnessed a series of extreme weather events in the past year. Wildfires in Canada, floods in Libya, hurricanes in Myanmar, temperature anomalies and melting glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctica... The occurrence of these extreme weather events is closely related to global climate change.

The Blue Book on Climate Change in China (2023), released in July 2023, states that the global warming trend continues. The data showed that in 2022, the global average temperature was 1.13 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the sixth highest since meteorological observations began in 1850.

In November 2023, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released its 2023 Emissions Gap Report, which pointed out that unless countries step up climate action, global temperatures will significantly cross the 2 degrees Celsius "warning line" by 2030, reaching 2.5 to 2.9 degrees Celsius.

Countries are working together to combat climate change

In April 2023, the European Parliament voted to pass several key bills in the climate change package, involving issues such as the reform of the carbon emission trading system, the carbon border adjustment mechanism, and the establishment of a social climate fund, aiming to significantly reduce the EU's greenhouse gas emissions.

In recent years, the U.S. government has vacillated on climate change, but it has made progress in specific initiatives in some areas. For example, the launch of clean energy projects and advanced technology vehicle production loan programs to provide financial support to companies adopting low-carbon technologies to reduce carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency.

In August this year, the area of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest region of Brazil decreased by 66.11% compared to the same period last year. Brazilian President Lula's government has pledged to set aside 3 million hectares of protected areas in the Amazon by 2027 to end illegal deforestation by 2030.

In recent years, the international community has become increasingly aware of the serious threat posed by climate change to the planet and to the survival of mankind, and has clearly expressed its determination to make changes through its actions.

China has made positive progress in tackling climate change

For a long time, China has attached great importance to addressing climate change, implemented a national strategy to actively respond to climate change, announced the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, built a "1+N" policy system for carbon peak and carbon neutrality, promoted the adjustment of industry, energy and transportation structure, and adopted a series of measures such as energy conservation and energy efficiency, establishment and improvement of market mechanisms, and increase forest carbon sinks, and made positive progress.

Data shows that in 2022, China's carbon emission intensity fell by more than 51% compared with 2005, and non-fossil energy accounted for 17.5% of energy consumption. As of the end of June 2023, the number of new energy vehicles in China reached 16.2 million, and more than half of the world's new energy vehicles are running in China. The national carbon emission trading market has been running smoothly, low-carbon pilot demonstrations have been effectively carried out, the ability to adapt to climate change has been continuously enhanced, and the awareness of green and low-carbon in the whole society has been continuously improved.

At the same time, China actively participates in the multilateral climate process, deepens South-South cooperation on climate change, and promotes the building of a fair, reasonable and win-win global climate governance system. China's active response to climate change has not only promoted its own green and low-carbon development, but also made important contributions to addressing global climate change.

Topics such as "global inventory" deserve attention and expectation

The primary focus of this year's COP28 is to complete the first Global Stocktake (GST). This will be a rigorous assessment of global progress in curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

At a regular press briefing on November 29, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that it is hoped that the global stocktake will focus on implementation, comprehensively assess the collective progress towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, assess the gap between the goals and actions of developed countries and their emission reduction obligations, identify the support gaps needed by developing countries, and earnestly urge developed countries to fulfill their commitments. 

Second, at COP27 in 2022, developed countries agreed to set up a "loss and damage fund". In November 2023, delegates reached a preliminary agreement on the draft of the "Loss and Damage" fund, the details and content of which will be discussed at COP28.

Finally, ahead of the conference, China and the United States jointly issued the Sunshine Country Statement on Strengthening Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis, clearly proposing to jointly support COP28, strengthen dialogue and carry out multi-faceted cooperation. During this conference, how to coordinate and interact between China and the United States is also the focus of attention of all parties.

Every year's UN climate change conference is an opportunity, and although the future is difficult, at least the direction is clear. "Multilateral cooperation is always an effective solution. COP28 President-designate Jaber said.