Photo: COP28/Christopher Pike
Representatives from nearly 200 countries at COP28, Dubai agreed to a roadmap for “transitioning away from fossil fuels” – a first for a UN climate conference
| Highlights of COP28 1. The loss and damage fund designed to support climate-vulnerable developing countries was brought to life on the first day of the COP. Countries have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars so far for the fund; 2. Commitments of worth $3.5 billion to replenish the resources of the Green Climate Fund; 3. New announcements totaling over $150 million for the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDC) and Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) 4. An increase of $9 billion annually by the World Bank to finance climate-related projects (2024 and 2025); 5. Nearly 120 countries backed COP28 UAE Climate and Health Declaration to accelerate actions to protect people’s health from growing climate impacts; 6. Over 130 countries have signed up to COP28 UAE Declaration on Agriculture, Food, and Climate to support food security while combatting climate change; and 7. Global Cooling Pledge has been endorsed by 66 countries to reduce cooling related emissions by 68% from today. |
UN chief António Guterres said of the final outcome document said that mention of the world’s leading contributor to climate change comes after many years in which the discussion of this issue was blocked and he also stressed that the era of fossil fuels must end with justice and equity.
“To those who opposed a clear reference to a phaseout of fossil fuels in the COP28 text, I want to say that a fossil fuel phase out is inevitable whether they like it or not. Let’s hope it doesn’t come too late,” added the Secretary-General.
The latest edition of the annual UN climate conference has been running in Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, since 30 November.
COP28 had been scheduled to close on Tuesday, but intense overnight negotiations on whether the outcome would include a call to “phase down” or “phase out” planet heating fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal forced the conference into overtime.
This is the main sticking point that pit activists and climate-vulnerable countries against some larger nations for much of past two weeks before successfully concluding on 12th December 2023.
Singapore @ COP28
The Singapore Pavilion at the 28th Conference was themed “Accelerating Collective Climate Action”, and the programmes at the Pavilion showcased Singapore’s commitment to global climate goals, emphasised the city-state’s vision to achieve net zero by 2050, and highlighted innovative and collaborative solutions backed by a strong ecosystem of partners across the private and people sectors, international organisations, and governments.
During the Pavilion’s closing ceremony, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said: “I am heartened by the ‘bias to action’ that we have witnessed here at the Pavilion. Many new climate initiatives and partnerships have been unveiled on this stage, by the Singapore government as well as our Partners. Like Singapore itself, our Pavilion has been ‘small, but mighty’. It is not about size, but impact. It is not about quantity, but quality. And it is not about making a once-off splash, but a sustained commitment with follow-through actions.”
The Pavilion attracted in-person visitorship of more than 6,000, along with nearly 60,000 unique online visitors across its 12 days of programming. The diverse range of programmes — involving around 100 partner entities, and including panel discussions, workshops, fireside chats as well as “pitch days” — covered multifaceted climate issues and provided attendees with opportunities for knowledge exchange and partnership development.
Numerous noteworthy announcements, launches and memoranda of understanding (MOU) signings took place at the Pavilion, as well as key announcements demonstrating concrete action Singapore is taking to support and accelerate the green transition in the region and beyond. These include the FAST-P (Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership), Singapore-Asia Taxonomy and the Transition Credits Coalition (TRACTION). In addition, Singapore signed its first Implementation Agreement with Papua New Guinea on carbon credits cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
Sources: UN News and COP28 Singapore Pavilion
