COP28: Whither the world heads

The first Conference of the Parties (COP 1) was held in 1995 under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted at the Earth Summit held in Rio in 1992. Since then, every year a COP was held except in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In addition, the issue has been widely and intensely discussed all these years at the UN and other international fora as well at regional, country and institutional levels all around the world, generating volumes after volumes of reports and declarations. Research activities on climate change have been and are being conducted widely, highlighting worsening climate change and its expanding impacts and suggesting ways forward in combatting the menace.

 

But greenhouse gas emission has kept increasing and consequently global warming has kept rising. July 2023 was the hottest on record. Natural disasters are happening all around the world in ever increasing numbers and causing ever more severe devastations. Bangladesh as one of the countries which are most vulnerable to climate change suffers heavily.

Now as the world faces a looming climatic crisis, COP 28 is being held in Dubai, UAE from 30 November to 12 December 2023. It is already emerging that controversies will be ripe and, consequently, doubts abound around the outcome being of much use relating to combatting the fast intensifying climate change.

To COP-28, I say:

• Firmly decide to save humanity and Planet Earth from the looming existential threat posed by the fast worsening climate change.

• Work out an effective way forward  accordingly, for which enough knowledge is available as to what needs to be done (for example, reduction of GHG emissions by 43% and 60% respectively by 2030 and 2035 relative to 2019).

• Post-COP 28, implement that way forward fully and in a transparent manner - no hanky-panky.

• Only in such a scenario, I will call this COP a success.

I see this COP as a watershed -- arrest the 'global boiling' spiral, recover and rejuvenate OR accept the fate of humanity to keep running along the highway to 'climate hell'.

* Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad is an economist and environment and climate change expert