COP28 agrees quickly on emergency fund
But showdown looms on action on fossil fuels
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — In a quick start to a summit that usually starts slow, nations at the United Nations Climate Change Conference on Thursday struck an agreement on an unprecedented fund aimed at helping vulnerable nations hit by climate emergencies.
The decision, coming after years of contention, provided a much-needed, best-case example of how the summit, known as COP28, can work when facing a narrowing window to divert the planet from its disastrous path.
“We have delivered history today,” said Sultan Al Jaber, the president of this year’s conference, adding that never before had countries adopted a decision on the first day.
But for all the early momentum, there are doubts about whether the event, taking place during the hottest year on record, can carry on smoothly, particularly as countries confront even more divisive issues.
One of those pertains to fossil fuels, with most scientific projections calling for a swift phase-down of the use of oil and gas. But this year’s COP’s president, who happens to be an oil chief executive, kicked off ceremonies on Thursday by opening his arms to the oil and gas industries — some of the world’s primary polluters — saying that they can “lead the way” in the energy transition.
Moments later, Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, told delegates that it was time to “signal the terminal decline of the fossil fuel era as we know it.”
That back-and-forth reflected that this is a COP of profound contradictions, which conference attendees could see on the train ride from downtown Dubai to the sprawling conference center hosting the talks.
The route passes dozens of shimmering skyscrapers, two golf courses kept green in the desert heat, and a long row of giant oil-burning power plants against an azure ocean.
Now the UAE is in the global spotlight, hosting an annual gathering that has ballooned into the largest UN event of the year, a grand and somewhat bewildering blend of science and activism, business and diplomacy, urgency and inertia.
Some of that urgency played out behind the scenes in the weeks leading up to COP, as Al Jaber and other officials homed in on the idea of greenlighting what is known as the “loss and damage” fund on the opening day as a momentumbuilding move and tried to rally support among regional groups.
One person familiar with those discussions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private talks, said that past COP presidents might have preferred to let countries openly deliberate a fund with a design that has potential shortcomings. But Al Jaber’s approach, that person said, was “I’ll gavel and let people moan a bit” after the fact.
“So it’s like, ‘I am in charge, stop messing around, bring me a solution’ — clearly setting the tone,” the person said.
Although the idea of a fund was approved last year at COP27 in Egypt, that agreement came without any specifics about how it would work and who would pay for it. Those details were left to a committee that met periodically during the past year to hash out some of the details in sessions that turned testy. The group nonetheless managed to deliver a proposal that was voted on Thursday.
“Hearing no objections, it is so decided,” Al Jaber said, as delegates rose and applauded.
The fund approved Thursday will initially be held at the World Bank, an idea that developing countries accepted reluctantly because they see that organization as issuing loans rather than disbursing grants, and as overly influenced by wealthy nations including the United States. Developed countries are urged, rather than obliged, to contribute to the fund, and there is no target for its size; adopting such language proved too controversial.
Immediately after the agreement Thursday, some countries made initial pledges, including $245 million from the European Union and its members ($100 million of that coming from Germany) and an additional $100 million from the United Arab Emirates. The UAE’s pledge could put pressure on other oil-rich states to follow suit.
The United States’ special climate envoy, John F. Kerry, said the nation would “work with our Congress” and pledge $17.5 million.