Pope's Absence and Biden's Proxy: COP28 Faces Hurdles in Dubai Summit for Climate Action
The 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) was held from November 30th to December 12th in Dubai. With the worsening of extreme climate change, this conference is of great interest to all sectors, with 70,000 participants expected to take stock of the Paris Agreement and promote carbon reduction and energy transformation. But with the conference taking place in a Middle Eastern oil-producing country, and with Sultan al-Jaber, the chairman of the conference who is also the chief executive of an oil company, rumors abounded on the eve of the conference, with the BCC reporting that a leaked transcript of the chairman's meeting with delegates showed an attempt to broker a deal with the Arab League, and with the Associated Press receiving a fake press release stating that al-Jaber had agreed to resign, which was vigorously refuted by al-Jaber. The Associated Press also received a fake press release stating that Jaber had agreed to resign, which Jaber vigorously refuted.
More than 200 governments from around the world are attending the Summit, which will conduct the first Global Stocktaking (GST) of the Paris Climate Agreement, including the energy transition, as well as the Compensation Fund for countries with low GHG emissions that are suffering from the effects of extreme weather, and the funding gap needed to advance climate goals; in addition, China, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates will conduct a summit on methane and non-CO2 GHGs to help achieve a 30% reduction in methane emissions by 2030.
Pope Francis was scheduled to attend, but canceled his trip to Dubai due to flu symptoms. However, the COP28 conference was deprived of a globally recognized environmental advocate with moral authority, which made it less effective in promoting environmental protection. U.S. President Joe Biden, who has attended the conference for two consecutive years, was also absent this year, and was replaced by U.S. Climate Envoy, former Secretary of State and former Senator John Kerry, who represented the U.S. at the summit.
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