COP28 President calls for accelerated action against climate crisis

By Samuel Ogunsona reporting from Dubai

The COP28 President, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, has called for immediate actions and a higher ambition against the escalating climate crisis across the world.

In Nigeria,climate change is compounded by corruption, lack of political will and the absence of the right environmental framework to tackle the menace.

He spoke ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 which opens today in Dubai. Irohinoodua team is attending the historic event.

COP28 which marks the conclusion of the “global stocktake”, will see over 160 world leaders participating from November 30 to December 12, 2023.

Dr. Al Jaber noted that every all hands must be on deck to reduce global emissions.

He said, “We don’t have any time to waste. We need to take urgent action now to reduce emissions. At COP28, every country and every company will be held to account, guided by the north star of keeping 1.5°C within reach,”.

According to him “All parties should be prepared to deliver a high ambition decision in response to the global stocktake that reduces emissions while protecting people, lives and livelihoods,”

He said the world has no time to waste.

“We need to take urgent action now to reduce emissions. At COP28, every country and every company will be held to account, guided by the north star of keeping 1.5°C within reach,”

He said all parties should be prepared to deliver a high ambition decision in response to the global stocktake that reduces emissions while protecting people, lives and livelihoods,” Al Jaber added.

However, the world is not on track to limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C by the end of this century. It appears not to recognize that countries are developing plans for a net-zero future, and the shift to clean energy is gathering speed, but it makes clear that the transition is nowhere near fast enough yet to limit warming within the current ambitions.

The UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell, said the COP28 should not be a photo-op for us but to see it as a challenge that we must act on fast.

He said, “Over 160 world leaders are headed to Dubai, because only cooperation between nations can get humanity back in this race. But COP28 cannot be just a photo-op. Leaders must deliver – the message is clear,”.

“And as leaders leave Dubai after the opening summit, their message to their negotiators must be equally clear: don’t come home without a deal that will make a real difference.”

“The reality is that without much more finance flowing to developing countries, a renewables revolution will remain a mirage in the desert. COP28 must turn it into a reality,” Stiell added.

Progress on climate finance at COP28 will be crucial to build trust in other negotiation areas and to lay the groundwork for an even more ambitious “New Collective Quantified Goal” for climate finance, which must be in place next year. It will also set the stage for a just and inclusive transition to renewable energy and the phasing out of fossil fuels.

In the face of rising conflicts and tensions worldwide, Stiell emphasized the need for collaborative efforts to combat climate change, an area in which nations can work together effectively to ensure a sustainable future both for people and the planet.