Day3
On Day 3 of COP28 in the UAE, the World Climate Action Summit ended. A multitude of pledges and commitments emerged, focused on decarbonizing the energy sector through cutting methane emissions, drying off private finance for coal power, and expanding nuclear power. The UAE and Saudi Arabia launched an Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC) to aid countries in reducing their reliance on coal. Major nations pledging against coal include the US and France. The World Bank launched its blueprint for methane reduction – an 18–month plan to set up fifteen national programs to cut methane emissions from activities such as rice production, livestock operations, and waste management. And more than twenty nations pledged to triple nuclear power capacity by 2050.
The other major area of focus for Day 3 of COP28 was including health in climate talks. Over 120 countries backed the ‘COP28 UAE Climate and Health Declaration’. Their ambition – make health central to climate action and push the development of climate resilient, sustainable, and equitable health systems. This Declaration is a first-of-its-kind and brings together governments to acknowledge the concerning health impacts of climate change on countries and populations.
Dr. Sultan Al Jaber
COP28 President-Designate,
UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change, and
Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology
Key announcements (02 December 2023)
Several Parties at COP28 backed renewed pledges to expand clean energy commitments. About 120 countries have expressed support for the ‘Global Renewables and Energy Efficiency Pledge’ to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030.[1] twenty-one nations across four continents, including the US, have also collectively launched the ‘Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy’. The declaration to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050 recognizes the need for increased reliance on nuclear energy to transition away from fossil fuels and keep climate change targets in reach.[2]
Curbing global methane and other non-carbon dioxide emissions has also been a key target of focus, especially as the world faces challenge in meeting its 2030 goal to cut methane emissions by 30 percent under the 2021 Global Methane Pledge. Notably, the US announced final rules aimed at curbing methane emissions from the country’s oil and gas industry under the EPA.[3] Two major methane emitters, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, also joined the Global Methane Pledge in cooperation with the US.[4] Leading philanthropic players, including the Bezos Earth Fund and Bloomberg Philanthropies, committed USD 450 million over three years to help nations combat methane emissions.[5] Finally, the COP28 Presidency also unveiled the ‘Global Decarbonization Accelerator’, a comprehensive action plan to move nations towards achieving climate goals by scaling up clean energy commitments and reducing emissions from methane production.
The US also announced other significant commitments. First, their membership in the ‘Powering Past Coal Alliance,’ committing to a moratorium on new unabated coal plants and to phasing out existing unabated coal power generation.[6] The US also pledged a significant USD 3 billion to the Green Climate Fund, with a particular focus on aiding marginalized communities in their adaptation efforts.[7]
Other notable announcements include: Italy pledging EUR 100 million (~USD 109 million) to the new loss and damage fund and earmarking 70 percent of its own Climate Fund to African states, highlighting the need to collaborate and invest with Africa as equals.[8] Colombia, a major fossil fuel exporter, joined a cohort of nations seeking a treaty on fossil fuel non-proliferation, becoming the 10th country to do so.[9] The initiative was launched by a group of Pacific Island nations, who are often disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change. A first-of-its-kind consortium to deploy five gigawatts of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), under the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet’s (GEAPP) Global Leadership Council (GLC). The GLC is co-chaired by Norwegian PM, Jonas Gahr Store and President of the Rockefeller Foundation, Dr. Rajiv J. Shah[10].
- https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/over-110-countries-set-join-cop28-deal-triple-renewable-energy-2023-12-02/
- https://www.energy.gov/articles/cop28-countries-launch-declaration-triple-nuclear-energy-capacity-2050-recognizing-key
- https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-finalizes-standards-slash-methane-pollution-combat-climate
- https://usa.tmembassy.gov.tm/news/125902; https://www.state.gov/u-s-kazakhstan-joint-statement-on-accelerating-methane-mitigation-to-achieve-the-global-methane-pledge/#:~:text=Kazakhstan%20joins%20the%20Global%20Methane,from%20the%20fossil%20energy%20sector
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/climate-philanthropies-announce-450-million-to-deepen-investment-in-super-climate-pollutants-302003534.html
- https://www.nrdc.org/press-releases/united-states-makes-major-coal-announcement-cop28
- https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/12/02/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-leverages-historic-u-s-climate-leadership-at-home-and-abroad-to-urge-countries-to-accelerate-global-climate-action-at-u-n-climate-conference-cop28/
- https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/italy-pledges-100-mln-euros-cop28-climate-damage-fund-pm-meloni-says-2023-12-01/
- https://www.barrons.com/news/colombia-joins-call-to-end-new-fossil-fuel-development-8c245540
- https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/news/10-countries-join-first-of-its-kind-consortium-to-deploy-5-gw-of-battery-energy-storage-systems/