The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference started on Nov. 30 in the United Arab Emirates. It is also known as COP28 (Conference of the Parties) and it is the 28th year that these parties have met. The parties included are part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The mission of the conference that ranges from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 is to discuss different ways to lessen climate change in the next few years. It is a chance for over 160 world leaders, scientists and environmental advocates to establish policies on a global scale and assess each country’s progress.
The summit rotates who hosts the conference through different parts of the world each year and this year the United Arab Emirates got the bid to host. The president-designate of the conference is Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, who also serves as CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. His job is to coordinate the summit and keep the final agreement on track.
United States Pres. Joe Biden is not attending the conference this year and will have Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry stepping in for him.
Three climate change reports have been released prior to the conference. The U.S.-based Fifth National Climate Assessment and global assessments include the UN Climate Change progress report and the 2023 State of Climate Action report.
The Fifth National Climate Assessment is issued by the U.S. every five years. In the report, they found that climate change is “making it harder to maintain safe homes and healthy families; reliable public services; a sustainable economy; thriving ecosystems, cultures, and traditions; and strong communities. Many of the extreme events and harmful impacts that people are already experiencing will worsen as warming increases and new risks emerge.”
The State of Climate Action report found that “global efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C are failing across the board, with recent progress made on every indicator — except electric passenger car sales — lagging significantly behind the pace and scale that is necessary to address the climate crisis.”
The UN Climate Change report showed that “national climate action plans remain insufficient to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.”
“Today’s report shows that governments combined are taking baby steps to avert the climate crisis. And it shows why governments must make bold strides forward at COP28 in Dubai, to get on track,” said the Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, Simon Stiel in a statement after the report was released. “This means COP28 must be a clear turning point. Governments must not only agree what stronger climate actions will be taken but also start showing exactly how to deliver them.”
In Connecticut, efforts have been made to develop and support forward-thinking climate-related policies and legislation, as well as participate in groundbreaking regional initiatives. Some programs included in the state’s efforts to combat climate change include the Electric Vehicle Roadmap and GreenerGovCT.
The Electric Vehicle Roadmap outlines pathways to achieve wide-scale deployment of electric vehicles. This roadmap complements existing transportation-sector strategies to drive reductions in harmful criteria pollutants, help the state meet federal health-based air quality standards and mitigate communities’ exposure to mobile air source toxicants.
The GreenerGovCT initiative has each Connecticut state agency developing a Sustainability Performance Plan that lists the necessary actions, milestones and responsible parties to achieve the sustainability goals and targets set by Executive Order 1.
From global to state level, climate change continues to get addressed and more action plans and reports are establishing what needs to be changed to prevent more increases in global warming.