Day10

Day 10 at COP28 focused on ‘Nature, Land Use, and Oceans.’ Parties acknowledged the multitude of economic, social, and cultural benefits offered by ecosystem services against the threat to stable ecosystems posed by the climate crisis. On the back of the USD 2.6 billion financing mobilized for nature, biodiversity, and climate at the World Climate Action Summit, leaders discussed further measures to address the interconnected challenges posed by climate change and biodiversity loss.[1] The goal of stakeholders – including governments, Indigenous peoples and local communities, civil society, and the private sector – is to conserve and restore at least 30 percent of the planet’s ecosystems by 2030, a goal approved by 190 countries last year at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal, Canada.[2]

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber

COP28 President-Designate,
UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change, and
Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology

Key Announcements (9th December 2023)

01.

As nature across land and seas took center stage today, many events at COP28 focused on biodiversity concerns, such as ‘Delivering on Glasgow: Halting and Reversing Forest Loss by 2030’.[3] Leaders presented actions in support of the Ocean Breakthroughs, launched ahead of COP28 with the aim to achieve a healthy and productive ocean in 2050, which could inform the Global Stocktake (GST) and final COP28 agreement.[4] Stakeholders also discussed initiatives behind the Mangrove Breakthrough, a global target to protect mangrove habitats, which crucially provide climate adaptation and mitigation benefits.[5] Other related announcements include:
o Eight of the world’s top commodities’ traders have pledged to stop buying soy from farms that destroy natural vegetation in South America, allowing for further protection of critical biodiverse areas such as Brazil’s Cerrado and Amazon. The commitment adds to the sector’s previous pledge to eliminate deforestation by 2025.[6]
o Multilateral development banks, such as the European Investment Bank, published common principles for identifying and measuring nature-positive finance, a key deliverable from the COP26 Joint MDB Statement on Nature, people, and Planet.[7]
o The 2030 Shipping Pact for People and Nature (SPPaN) was launched, aiming to address the interconnected challenges of pollution, biodiversity loss, and the climate price in the shipping industry through decarbonization and maritime protections.[8]
o The UAE announced USD 100 million of new grant funding to support Ghana’s efforts in forest restoration and sustainable livelihoods for local communities.[9] Germany also announced EUR 40 million (~USD 43.1 million) to the International Climate Initiative to protect biodiversity.[10]

02.

Other announcements include:
o The US and UAE announced yesterday that joint funding efforts for the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate), which promotes climate-friendly farming practices globally, had grown to over USD 17 billion since its inauguration at COP26.[11]
o A Dutch-led group of a dozen nations – such as Canada, France, Spain, Denmark, and Finland – pledged to identify and phase out fossil fuel subsidies, building from the voluntary agreement at COP28 for nations to phase out ‘inefficient’ subsidies. The US and China were notably absent from the new commitment.[12]
o A leader from OPEC has urged OPEC+ members to reject proposals for language in the final COP28 agreements that target fossil fuels rather than emissions.[13] The news comes as over 100 countries demand a final deal which calls for an eventual fossil fuel phase-out, include the US and EU.[14] Saudi Arabia and Russia, respectively the de factor leaders of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and OPEC+ (OPEC plus non-OPEC members), have opposed fossil fuel phase-outs in any COP28 agreement. China has not explicitly endorsed phase-outs but has supported renewable energy pledges.[15]