Since the Rio Earth Summit and the adoption of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (COP) has convened signatory Parties each year to determine ambitions and responsibilities, and identify and assess the progress of climate measures. The 21st session of the COP (COP21) led to the Paris Agreement, which mobilised collective action to limit the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, and strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change.
COP28, and the first Global Stocktake of the Paris Agreement, can be the turning point on climate action over this critical decade to accelerate a transition that puts economies on the path toward a new low-carbon, high-growth, sustainable economic model in a way that is both transformational and just. COP28 has the vision to deliver on the pillars of the Paris Agreement, focusing on specific action on four paradigm shifts:
fast-tracking the energy transition and slashing emissions before 2030;
transforming climate finance, by delivering on old promises and setting the framework for a new deal on finance;
putting nature, people, lives and livelihoods at the heart of climate action; and
mobilising for the most inclusive COP ever.
