The UAE COP28 Summit - Conclusions and Reflections

Talal Abu-Ghazaleh

The COP28 conference had convened in Dubai from during November 6 – 17, 2023, with over 200 countries and numerous stakeholders participating to accelerate efforts for limiting  global warming to 1.5°C as outlined in the Paris Agreement. The summit’s significance relates to the fact that it was the first of its kind to be held in the Middle East, a vulnerable region to climate change consequences such as water scarcity, heat stress and desertification.

The outcomes of the summit reflects both the nature of the climate crisis and the complexity of finding solutions. A landmark achievement was that  countries worldwide agreed to transit out of fossil fuels for the first time after 28 years of international climate negotiations. Additionally there was a commitment towards phasing out fossil fuel subsidies while providing support for workers and communities affected by this transition.

A new financial initiative was established at the Summit to address climate change losses and damages, to raise $100 billion by 2025 for helping developing countries, island nations and  countries I need, that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change; countries which have long advocated for this fund.

In an another move towards sustainability, 119 countries representing 80% of energy demand, pledged to triple their renewable energy sources by 2030. The aim is to expedite the adoption of energy technologies, like power, wind energy and hydroelectricity.

Additionally, a global effort was announced with 40 countries committing to phase out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by 2030 - a greenhouse gas commonly used in refrigeration systems and air conditioning units.

As the Chair of the Consortium for Urbanization in New York (CSU), I cannot stress enough the significance of fulfilling climate change obligations. I would also highly encourage stakeholders to revisit the detailed report I developed in 1999 called ‘Accounting and Financial Reporting for Environmental Costs and Liabilities’ to facilitate better corporate financial environmental reporting, at the request of the then UN Secretary General Mr. Kofi Annan.

This was done under the Arab Society of Certified Accountants (ASCA) that I established in 1984, and was produced in consultation with the United Nations and International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (UNISAR), which I also chaired.