Global temperatures are rapidly increasing due to factors that are spiking the emission of carbon, like burning fossil fuels, deforestation, industrial processes, etc.
According to the NOAA, “Earth’s temperature has risen by an average of 0.14° Fahrenheit (0.08° Celsius) per decade since 1880” as well as how the rate of warming has been twice as fast since 1981. This is causing many problems like the rise of sea levels, wildfires, warming oceans, and negative effects on agriculture, just to name a few.
The United Nations has a Conference of the Parties (COP), and according to the UNFCCC, “UN Climate Change conferences (or COPs) take place every year and are the world’s only multilateral decision-making forum on climate change with almost complete membership of every country in the world.” Their goal is to help communities that are vulnerable to climate change adapt and to achieve net-zero emissions by the year 2050.
It’ll be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which is one of the huge contributors to the world’s carbon emissions, releasing 218.8 million metric tons of carbon just last year according to Statista.
Some of the things that will be addressed at COP28 are helping vulnerable communities affected by climate change, funding to help developing countries, and closing the wide emissions gap.
COP28 will also conclude the first-ever global stocktake which is where stakeholders and countries see where their progress is in meeting the Paris Climate Change Agreement goals. As of right now, the stocktake shows that the globe is not on track to the limit of global warming which means they must act fast before it’s too late. The stocktake will also help kickstart the next climate change plans that are due by 2025.
