Mountains and climate change

 

A multi-part expert dialogue on mountains and climate change was held the first week of the SBs. Mountain ecosystems are home to over 1 billion people and unique natural resources and biodiversity. They are suffering impacts including substantial glacier retreat that decreases access to freshwater and increases extreme events including floods, landslides, wildfires, and heat waves. If these areas become uninhabitable, people currently living there will need to relocate to other areas, leaving behind ancestral homes and livelihoods and possibly encountering conflicts for space and resources. It was noted that mountains are indicators of what the rest of the world will face and that impacts to mountains don’t stay in mountains as there are significant downstream impacts. The presentations and key messages from breakout groups are available at the following link: expert-dialogue-on-mountains-and-climate-change. At the end of the session, there was a call to include a dialogue on mountains and climate change as a permanent part of the SB agenda as was done recently for oceans. 

The rights of children

Noteworthy for the 2024 SBs was a mandated dialogue on children and climate change. Some key messages:

• Enhanced climate resilience of children includes all aspects necessary for survival, health, and development such as water, food and nutrition, sanitation, health, education, safety, and social services.
• Girls are uniquely vulnerable, as they may be subjected to increased domestic burdens, interruptions in education, child labor, forced marriages, and gender-based violence.
• Policies are needed that provide benefits immediately and last a lifetime. It is important to consider the protection of the child plus everything that supports the child – parents, caregivers, families, schools, communities, and others.
• Impacts and necessary safeguards often differ by age group and can last lifetimes. Early intervention (between 1-3 years) is important.
• Quality climate education is needed at all age levels. Greening school grounds can serve as both mitigation and adaptation. Curricula should prepare youth for changing conditions as well as for a new green economy and green jobs.
• The unique needs of children should be factored into all UNFCCC agendas and actions including in NDCs and NAPs, IPCC Reports, Loss and Damage actions (which should consider both economic and non-economic losses), and Finance.
• Children should be involved in these discussions, serve on future panels, and should be given agency to make decisions. Preparing youth and providing ways for them to get involved and contribute to solutions is important because it is their futures, and it can help reduce climate anxiety and grief.

The session was concluded by a statement from an indigenous perspective. (My apologies for not catching the speaker’s name or affiliation.) The speaker said to think of our ancestors and what they would do, taking their best practices and learning from their mistakes, while considering the present day, and thinking of multiple generations from now. This type of thinking helps ensure protection and sustainable use of natural resources.

Nature and Climate Change

 

I am pleased to be attending the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference, the intersessional meetings of the Subsidiary Bodies (SBs) in Bonn, Germany, as part of Moravian University’s observer delegation. The first session I attended filled me with hope and enthusiasm, which is the best way to start an SB or COP.

The session was led by UNFCCC and centered on REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries). To date, REDD+ activities in 17 countries have reduced GHG emissions by over 11 billion tons of CO₂ (Global Stocktake, UN Climate Change, 2023). Parties are asked to enhance these efforts by 2030 and include forest protection goals in their next NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions, or Paris Agreement pledges, for which third updates are due in 2025). As reported in this session, halting deforestation is now embedded in the UNFCCC for the first time, indicating the growing recognition that the forest sector can help countries achieve NDC targets.

One of the speakers also emphasized how far countries and REDD+ have come in the past 15 years or so. In the early days, a lot of assumptions were used in calculations and models, whereas now there are more baselines, datasets, and maps. I have noticed the change in tone of the REDD+-related interventions myself: when I first started listening to REDD+ talks in 2009 and 2010, the sessions were riddled with complaints about the program, while at least at this session in 2024, there were, in effect, celebrations of the program’s effectiveness and success stories.

It was also highlighted that forest protection amounts to millions of dollars in annual revenue for developing countries. In this way, forest protection went from a logistical challenge to an economic asset (though I am sure it is still challenging). There was also a comment that soon coastal nations would be receiving funds from blue carbon projects, including through protection and restoration of seagrasses, marshes, and coral reefs, as blue carbon is being factored into both NDCs and NAPs (National Adaptation Plans). It is wonderful to see nature protection being prioritized for its own value and as a way to achieve climate mitigation and adaptation goals.

Key COP28 Issues - Part 2: Loss

The second main issue raised as key to COP28 by the U.S. negotiations team during an October 2023 briefing was Loss and Damage.

For many years, developing countries (the Global South) have argued that developed or industrialized countries (i.e., those that have contributed greenhouse gases to the atmosphere for decades) should provide compensation for the negative impacts that climate change is having on them. Countries that have contributed the least to this global problem are often experiencing serious impacts, yet they have the least resources to deal with the damage. 

This carbon inequality has been addressed by Oxfam International, including the most recent information shared (2023):

• The world's richest 10% of people were responsible for more than half of the carbon added to the atmosphere between 1990 and 2105.
• In those 25 years alone, they blew one third of our remaining global 1.5C carbon budget, compared to just 4 percent for the poorest half of the population.
• The richest 1% of the world's population were responsible for more than twice as much carbon pollution as the 3.1 billion people who made up the poorest half of humanity.
• It took about 140 years to use 750G of the global carbon budget, and just 25 years from 1990 to 2015 to use about the same again -- over half of which is linked to the consumption of just the richest 10% of the people.
• The per capita consumption footprints of the richest 1% are currently around 35 times higher than the target for 2030 and more than 100 times higher than the poorest 50%.

If you are a visual learner:

From Oxfam International, 2023

Another way to illustrate the inequalities and social justice issues related to climate change is through maps referred to as griddled cartograms. Here is one example in which the size of the country is drawn in proportion to either the cumulative carbon dioxide gas emissions or the severity of certain climaet change health consequences: 

Data-driven cartogram maps demonstrating (A) relative proportions of cumulative carbon dioxide emissions, by country, and (B) magnitude and severity of the consequences of climate change for malaria, malnutrition, diarrhea, and drownings, by country.
(From Patz JA, Gibbs HK, Foley JA, et al. Climate change and global health: quantifying a growing ethical crisis. EcoHealth. 2007; doi.10.1007/s10393-007-0141-1. See here.)

Please stop to think about these statistics related to fossil fuel use and who has/hasn't benefitted from this resource. Also think about the disparate negative impacts of that use in terms of air pollution and climate change impacts that go far beyond health.

Pardon a diversion as I provide some historical context:

In the 1700's, the English realized that coal burned hotter than wood charcoal. The U.S. has a significant amount of the world reserves of coal, and this fuel played a significant role in launching the Industrial Revolution in our country. The first oil well in North America was drilled in Ontario Canada in 1858, and in 1859, oil was discovered near Titusville, Pennsylvania. Crude oil was known long before, but discoveries of large oil reserves in the U.S. and the introduction of the internal combustion engine (and use in automobiles) in the early twentieth century led to a rapid growth of the petroleum industry. The idea of fracturing (fracking) to release gas from geological formations also dates back to the mid 1800's, but the technologies developed by Halliburton revolutionized the industry for natural gas extraction.

As a resident of Pennsylvania, I think about its history of fossil fuels. The Commonwealth has abundant sources of high quality coal, oil and natural gas, so there is a long history of mining, refining, and fracking. In fact, Pennsylvania is the leading East Coast supplier of fossil fuels, refined petroleum products, and electricity to the nation. (See here.) As noted in that reference, "the state is among the top 10 consumers of natural gas, coal, petroleum products, and electricity" and is "the second-largest net supplier of energy to other states, after Texas." There is also a long legacy of steel production in Pennsylvania and a significant cement industry (another major source of carbon dioxide release). In other words, my home state has a very high carbon footprint and has contributed to global greenhouse gases for a very long time. 

So back to the idea of Loss and Damage:

Article 8 of the 2015 Paris Agreement recognized the issue of loss and damage but did't require or even compel countries to pay for it. Debates have centered on whether countries in the Global North that have long prospered from the use of fossil fuels (which, when burned, produce carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas) are liable for damage elsewhere in the world, and if so, what is the best way to provide retribution. Should a country like the United States pay into a fund that is used to cover loss and damage? If so, what is an appropriate amount to pay? What are the criteria for accessing this fund, who should manage the fund and decision making, and how much due developed nations owe? Alternatively, should a global insurance plan or risk-sharing approach (mentioned in this article from Forbes) be developed? This alternative model doesn’t necessary focus on reparations (i.e., doesn’t place blame), but helps to cover loss and damage.

You can find a good guide to Loss and Damage here. 

The Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage was launched under the UNFCCC at COP19 in 2013. At COP27 in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt in 2022, Parties finally agreed to set up a fund. Ambitious pre-COP28 negotiations building on a decade of work and advocacy led to a surprising decision (agreement) on this agenda item (a Loss and Damage Fund) on day 1 of COP28. On that day, wealthy nations pledged to contribute at least $260 million to the fund, surpassing the minimum threshold of $200 million required to launch the fund. At the end of week 1 of COP28, the fund had reached US $700 million, but this is less than 0.2% of the economic and non-economic losses that developing countries face annual from climate change.

The climate change impacts are not just being experienced by developing countries. A March 14, 2023 briefing from the White House noted the following economic impact of climate and weather disasters from 2022: 

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), "the cost of climate and weather disasters in the United States last year totaled more than $165 billion—the third most costly year on record" and "this cost fails to capture the devastation from lives lost, the toll on our healthcare, and the impacts on American families and communities upended and displaced by increasing climate crises."

Severe heat waves, coastal flooding and other sea-level rise damage such as salt water intrusion into fresh water supplies, wildfires, crop loss, and natural disasters (think stronger hurricanes) are all exacerbated by climate change. Continued warming will lead to further increases in disaster risk and rising costs of the associated damage. 

Once the Loss and Damage fund agenda item was approved at COP28, country pledges were quickly announced. Here are some pledges to date (from Earth.org): 

•  United Arab Emirates: $100 million
• Germany: $100 million
• United Kingdom: $50 million
• Japan: $10 million
• United States: $17.5 million*
• Denmark: $50 million
• Ireland: $27 million
• European Union: $27 million
• Norway: $25 million
• Canada: $12 million
• Slovenia: $1.5 million

*The U.S. historically has emitted the highest amount of greenhouse gases.

This fund is separate from other funds under the UNFCCC that help developing nations tackle climate-related challenges. It is estimated that at least $400 billion per year is needed -- a number far greater than public funding from developed nations could ever provide. 

There are still logistical details associated with the Loss and Damage fund to be worked out such as what will be the scope of the loss or damage covered, who will be the beneficiaries (i.e., who are the particularly vulnerable countries to prioritize), and how can you attribute an event to climate change? For a provisional period, this will be overseen by the World Bank but there will be a dedicated board for decision making and other measures that helped to appease countries from the Global South that didn’t want this fund administered by either the IMF or the World Bank. Ultimately, the details of who funds this long-term will need to be determined. 

Week 1 Conclusion

 By now, I am back in Bethlehem, but I wanted to create a follow-up blog post to reflect on the rest of my experience during the first week of COP28 in Dubai! The past week included tons of pin collecting at several pavilions, sightseeing across the city, and events where important discussions were taking place.

Most notably, there were two particular COP28 side events that I enjoyed. The first side event, titled "Buildings and Construction for Sustainable Cities: New Key Partnerships for Decarbonisation, Adaptation and Resilience," began by noting that every country tends to have regulations in place for building fires and other emergencies. Why, though, doesn't every country have net-zero and climate-friendly building regulations? Sustainable construction needs to begin with renovating and repurposing, rather than rebuilding. Moreover, there must be a greater shift to green building materials and an emphasis on passive cooling rather than using electric cooling methods. To the finance community that remains skeptical about transitioning to green building materials and repurposing projects, green materials enhance the longevity of a building, and repurposing projects produce 9-30 jobs per project and the industry represents 70% of global employment. While I was at COP28, Ghana signed on as the 28th country to join the initiative known as Buildings Breakthrough, which aims to ensure that "worldwide near-zero emission and resilient buildings are the new normal by 2030." In the United States, electricity-based heating is out-pacing fossil-based heating in new building constructions for the first time. It is claimed that a fully effective transition in the US needs to be people-based.

Another interesting side event that I attended was on green chemistry. This was the first time I had heard about green chemistry, which was defined as "the design of chemical product and processes to reduce or eliminate the use of and generation of hazardous substances." More than 40 countries have active green chemistry networks such as the ACS Green Chemistry Institute and the Green Chemistry Network. The reason why green chemistry is so valuable is because it aligns environmental and economic values. It was noted in the presentation that one challenge for green chemistry involves changing the energy basis of economies. This is a problem because while scientists may know how to solve this challenge, the general public needs to learn the potential of green chemistry. This is where the Yale Center on Climate Change and Health comes in with the goals of advancing the science, catalyzing implementation, preparing the next generation, and raising awareness. Products produced by Air Company serve as interesting innovations due to green chemistry. For example, the company produces the world's carbon-negative vodka, known as AIR Vodka. All Air Company products aim to generate imagination of what is possible in terms of carbon-negative products. Furthermore, if the Air Company process was adopted by all industries worldwide, more than 10% of emissions would be reduced.

While much of our time was dedicated to COP during the day, we did get the opportunity to go sightseeing and visit some popular Dubai attractions and landmarks. One day, we got to visit Marina Beach, where we swam in the Persian Gulf with views of the Ain Dubai (Dubai Eye) in the distance. Another day, we visited the Dubai Mall and got to view the Burj Khalifa at night from along the Dubai Fountain. Additionally, we ate at a variety of restaurants throughout our stay, ranging from Russian to Georgian, and Mexican to authentic Emirati cuisines. Oftentimes, the food within COP28 at Expo City did not compare to food found elsewhere throughout Dubai, however, it was mutually agreed upon that we hadn't had one bad meal during our trip.

On the final day, we left the Airbnb by 9:30PM and boarded the Dubai Metro for the airport since our flight was scheduled to depart at around 2AM. Many of our housemates had yet to arrive for the night when we left, so it was difficult to say goodbye to many people. It is most likely that they were enjoying a night out ahead of the upcoming day of rest scheduled for December 7th.

It was a bittersweet feeling to leave Dubai and COP28, but I was ready to return home and see my family. My experience at COP28 has been something that I wouldn't change for the world. I feel as though I have learned so much relevant information to my field of study, and I feel very appreciative to be one of four Moravian students who got the opportunity to attend. I hope those who are remaining at COP28 for the second week, as well as those who are just now starting their COP28 journey, finish the week with similar feelings!

Key COP28 Issues - Part 1: The Global Stocktake

Back in October, I had the opportunity to attend a virtual briefing with members of the U.S. negotiating team. They discussed three main topics that they believed would be the core decision areas to pay attention to at COP28. The briefing was “off the record” and was not open to the press. I will provide a summary of these topics, along with a few other observations that were made during that briefing, through a series of blog posts. I will start with perhaps the main issue of COP28: the Global Stocktake (GST).

This will be the first global stocktake – a midpoint “check-in” between 2015 when the Paris Agreement was adopted to the 2030 timeline of that accord. This reporting is mandated by the Paris Agreement. Parties need to determine how well the current country pledges for reducing greenhouse gas emissions align with the goal of keeping global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celcius (above the pre-Industrial period) and what further actions are still needed.

Analyses of the publicly available Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs (the individual country plans on how they will reduce emissions) have been done and suggest that in their totality, only get us to limiting warming to about 2.7 degrees C of planetary warming (see Climate Action Tracker). More ambitious climate action is certainly needed.

Under the Biden Administration, the U.S. is facilitating an energy transition to clean renewables as evident in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. This legislation, despite the name, has been billed as the most significant climate policy in U.S. history.

From the briefing, I learned that the U.S. will continue to push for reduction of non-carbon dioxide gases that contribute to warming (e.g. methane). Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide in its ability to absorb and trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere (and thus, contributing to climate change). I find this focus on non-carbon dioxide gases interesting. I am not sure if it is intentional or not, but it seems to take some of the focus away from phasing out fossil fuels, which, when combusted, produce carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. Including any reference about phasing out fossil fuels in any decision coming out of COP28 is, of course, controversial. It doesn’t help when the COP28 President, Sultan Al Jaber, claims that “there is ‘no science’ indicating that a phase-out of fossil fuels is needed to restrict global heating to 1.5 degrees C.” (See Dec 3rd article from The Guardian.).

The headline from the December 6th ECO Newsletter (Climate Action Network) speaks to the significance of this issue: “1st Global Stocktake Will Make or Break 1.5 C.” This really is not hyperbole.

We keep hearing that the presidency is “laser focused on 1.5” but have yet to see the details of the roadmap to this goal.

As part of this global stocktake, adaptation plans and finance issues should also be assessed. Somewhat analogous to the NDCs, countries are supposed to have National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). These plans outline what steps a country is taking to adapt to a changing climate and its impacts, actions that will make cities, agriculture and food systems, ecosystems, and other sectors more resilient. From everything I am hearing, Parties are divided on all these issues. It should not be surprising that financial mechanisms are controversial. About the only thing that almost everyone agrees on is that there will never be enough public funding to properly address climate solutions, adaptation, and “loss and damage” (to be discussed in my next post). 

COP28 Overview & Thoughts!

 Just one year ago, I was reading posts on this blog as a homework assignment while Dr. Husic was at COP27. Now, I am writing my own post on this blog after attending COP28! I want to start by saying how incredibly lucky and grateful I feel to have had the opportunity to attend COP28. I have learned and gained so much from this experience. 

The first couple of days at COP28 were spent exploring the venue, figuring out how COP works, and getting adjusted. During this time, we went to a few pavilions and attended the opening ceremony, where the gavel was handed over from the President of COP27 to the new President of COP28. As we got more comfortable, we started attending more talks, panels, and pavilions! From hearing Madagascar talk about their early warning systems to a film screening about the ocean, we really saw it all. My favorite talk was about Green Chemistry put on by Yale University. I had never heard of the field of green chemistry prior to this, so I feel like I learned a lot. For example, they talked about Air Company, which is a company that developed technology to turn carbon dioxide into jet fuel. If all jet fuel companies adapted this technology, it would bring about a 10.8% reduction in emissions! Talks like this and many others proved to be valuable learning opportunities. 

On Sunday, we had the privilege of seeing Hillary Clinton talk about women and climate resilience. We did not catch the whole talk, but what we heard was great! It was awesome to see such a recognizable figure talking about something I am passionate about. This was definitely a trip highlight! Other notable highlights from this trip were the amazing food, making memories with friends, and sightseeing. We were able to go to the Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa one evening after the conference and it was amazing! Being able to see things in person that I had only previously seen in photos was unbelievable.

Overall, this trip was surreal and went by entirely too fast. From sightseeing to attending talks to collecting pins at pavilions, I think I speak for myself and my friends when I say we had an unforgettable time. I experienced so many different cultures, languages, and opinions, which was really eye-opening. I feel hopeful for the future of climate action, especially after seeing almost 100,000 people gathered together for the cause! I hope to be able to attend more COPs in the future to keep expanding my horizons and learning more!

A UNFCCC Primer or Reminder

Expo 2020 - the Dubai venue for COP28

Greetings from Dubai and COP28. For anyone reading this blog for the first time (or the first time in a long time), I will provide a bit of background before I post on some of the issues that are being discussed, debated, and negotiated here in 2023.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (or UNFCCC) is an international agreement or treaty that was adopted at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. In that original Convention, key principles for the future work were established:

• Decisions for action are to be based on science. For example, any goals towards mitigating the causes of, or impacts stemming from, climate change should be based on scientific evidence. By the time of the Rio Earth Summit, the first report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) had been released (1990). These periodic reports review, analyze, and synthesize relevant published scientific data from around the world to theoretically guide the negotiations surrounding climate change.
• There was an early recognition of the need for adaptation – planning for the adaptation of natural and human systems to the unavoidable impacts of a warming climate. In other words, policymakers recognized over 30 years ago that there were already enough greenhouse gas pollutants in the atmosphere to set into motion some degree of climate disruption.
• The Convention recognized common but differentiated responsibilities. Each country that is a signatory to the UNFCCC (198 of them) has a responsibility to address this global environmental challenge. However, because of both different histories of emitting greenhouse gases (those pollutants responsible for holding excess heat in the atmosphere and leading to planetary warming) and different abilities to finance appropriate responses, there was recognition that countries had different degrees of responsibility or ability for addressing the issues. 
• All decisions under the UNFCCC must be made by consensus. It is often difficult to get a small group of people to agree on simple issues. Imagine trying to get almost 200 countries with different needs, priorities, levels of resources, etc. to agree on every single word of a legally binding agreement!
  
  The UNFCCC Secretariat was established in conjunction with the adoption of the global treaty and is tasked with supported the global response to the threats of climate change and serves as an impartial administrator of the processes associated with the Convention. Like any UN component, there is a complexity to the organization with many diverse functions.
  
  The schematic below is adapted from the UNFCCC website and shows the organization and main functions of the Secretariat. It is led by an Executive Secretary, who is currently Mr. Simon Stiell from Granada who has been in the role since August 2022. In the opening plenary for COP28 in Dubai, he noted that the Secretariat serves as the “custodian of the process.” Since I have been attending COPs (2009), there have been three other individuals in this role: Patricia Espinosa, Christiana Figueres, and Yvo de Boer. There are also ~ 450 staff employed within the Secretariat.

The Secretariat organizes the meetings of the Conference of the Parties (COP) and various bodies or work groups under the UNFCCC and supplemental agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol (adopted at COP3 in 1997 and entered into force in 2005) and the Paris Accord or Agreement (a 2015 agreement from COP15 which went into effect in 2020). So COP28 is the 28th consecutive meeting of the Conference of the Parties (the signatories to the original Convention from 1992). During the annual COP meetings, there is also CMP18 (the 18th Session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol) and CMA5 (the 5th Session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement). If you haven’t noticed yet, there are many acronyms in this process or what is sometimes referred to as the alphabet soup of the UNFCCC!

The fact that we are over 30 years out from the original Convention agreement reflects how slowly the process moves, in part due to the difficulty in trying to solve a complex global problem, and partially due to the requirement for consensus for any decision or action. This causes great frustration for many people who know that the negative consequences of climate change that put human lives, livelihoods, and biodiversity at risk are accelerating. At this point, the IPCC has compiled and released 6 global assessment reports and several special reports, for example Global Warming of 1.5 ºC and the Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) reports.

The role of Secretariat has expanded over the years as decisions and new mandates are agreed to by the Parties at the COPs. For instance, as a result of provisions in the Paris Agreement, the Secretariat maintains the registry for the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), official commitments of countries that describe their plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (by how much, by what means, and in what timeframe). The Secretariat also works with non-Party stakeholders such as cities, businesses, investors, civil society (see below), and other divisions of the United Nations.

I won’t get into the details in this post, but under the Secretariat, there are two main subsidiary bodes carrying out key work throughout the year: the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA). There are also about 16 Constituted Bodies all of which have very specific charges. A few that will have key roles at this COP include:

• the Adaptation Committee and the Adaptation Fund Board
• the Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage
• the Standing Committee on Finance
• the Technology Executive Committee.

These different subsidiary and constituted bodies (working groups) meet in between the annual COPs and hold negotiation sessions (consultations, informals, contact groups, and a number of other interestingly named events) during a COP on a variety of detailed issues. This work typically results in documents with recommended language for high level ministers to consider and hopefully adopt before the end of a COP. The totality of the language adopted on the different workstreams are the outcomes of these annual meetings -- the Decision document(s). Some of these formal decisions are limited to a specific issue (e.g. the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage COP 19 in 2013 or the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan of COP27 from last year). Others, like the Paris Agreement from COP21 in 2015, are more far-reaching in their scope.

If it isn’t obvious by now, it is almost impossible for any individual to keep track of all the moving parts or have in depth knowledge of all the issues unless this is their full-time job. That is rarely the case for Parties or the Observers (discussed below).

The location of the COPs rotates among different regions of the world. Each host country selects someone to serve in the role of COP President. This individual works with Parties to set the agenda for the COP, presides over the formal negotiations process, helps to draft and facilitating agreements, represents the COP at various international forums, etc. – essentially serving as the public face of the process for a year. The COP president often pleads with Parties to be more ambitious in defining goals to address climate change and to work cooperatively and efficiently. There is a lot at stake for the host country each year to deliver on more than promises. At the opening plenary at COP28, His Excellency Sameh Shoukry, President of COP 27 turned the gavel over to His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, President of COP28 who pledged to roll up his sleeves and work alongside the Parties. I won’t elaborate, but there are controversies about Al Jaber serving in this role given his deep ties with the oil industry in the United Arab Emirates.

The Party countries identify a delegation of negotiators or decision-makers to participate in the UNFCCC processes. The Party countries are also responsible for implementing the commitments made under the Convention or related agreements, financial contributions, completing mandatory reporting requirements, etc.

So, what about Moravian University’s role in all of this? We are an accredited Observer organization under the UNFCCC. Observers include non-governmental organizations, (NGOs), intergovernmental organizations (e.g. other United Nation units), businesses, universities, businesses, etc. (The press is a separate category and have different color badges than Parties or Observers for the COP.) NGOs make up what is more broadly known as civil society and help to ensure that diverse voices and perspectives are reflected in a range of dialogues and negotiations, and these organizations play an important role in grounding multilateral discussions in the everyday realities of people.

Observers can attend the official meetings, submit written statements prior to sessions, make oral statements, meet official government delegations, UN officers and other NGO representatives, and organize and attend parallel events that take place during the session (e.g. side events, pavilion programming, etc.). They participate in debates, interactive dialogues, and panel discussions, typically advocating for strong climate action or some related cause. Each observer organization aligns with one of nine constituency groups such as the environmental NGOs (ENGOs), business and industry (BINGOs), women and gender or the indigenous peoples’ organizations. Moravian University is affiliated with the research and independent NGOs or RINGOs along with other institutions of higher education, research organizations, think tanks, etc. This constituency doesn’t advocate for any specific position on an issue, but can provide expertise on key issues and expects that research evidence is used for decision making by the Parties.

Observers are part of civil society – the totality of voluntary civic and social institutions that has shared purposes (e.g., solving the climate challenge, sustainable development, etc.). A healthy civil society comprised of NGOs, unions, academia, human rights organizations, etc.) is important for a democratic process and to hold governments accountable. Under the UNFCCC, this would include member nations or Parties and the Secretariat.

In the next post, I will provide an overview of some of the key issues being considered at COP28.

Day 1: "Sitting on the Fence"

     My name is Zach Phillips, and I am currently a senior studying Environmental Policy & Economics at Moravian. I first learned about the UNFCCC conferences through a course titled "Climate Negotiations on the International Stage," which I had taken about a year ago during the fall semester of my junior year. Taught jointly by Dr. Husic and Dr. Binford, they introduced me to the concept of annual COP gatherings and allowed me to familiarize myself with what these meetings were all about. As I delved into relevant coursework, it became clear that the COP essentially serves as an opportunity for countries around the world to discuss, review, and take action in terms of their progress in achieving climate change mitigation goals. Presently, the COP remains a relevant subject in my coursework and studies, especially since I am currently enrolled in the Environmental Policy course taught by Dr. Husic.

    I have the honor of spending my first international trip attending COP28 in Dubai, UAE. I specifically applied for my first passport to take advantage of this great opportunity. This year's conference is particularly important because it marks the halfway point between the Paris Agreement, which was introduced at COP21 in 2015 in Paris, France. For those who may not be familiar with the Paris Agreement, it is a treaty enacted with the goal of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celcius, and, even more ideal, to 1.5 degrees Celcius above pre-industrial temperatures.

    Upon arrival to the Dubai Expo City, where COP28 is being held, we checked in to receive our observer badges. It was a hot and sunny 85 degree day in Dubai, so waiting in line was a struggle as much of the venue is outdoors. Once we received our badges, we proceeded to the Blue Zone, where much of the negotiating action, side events, and panel discussions happen. As recommended to us, we stopped by a "pavilion" session hosted by Michigan Technological University where the topic of the day was centered around an environmental justice project that the university was involved with, known as "JUSTNORTH." The project asks the question, "how do we negotiate an equitable transition in the Arctic and beyond" when it comes to clean energy. As noted by one speaker, one of the goals of the project was to avoid the word "justice" from becoming a buzzword such as how the word "sustainability" has become. A point was also made on how academia can provide a framework in which governments can build upon policies and approaches to regulation. There is often a divide between what policymakers are doing, what governments are doing, and the expectations of local communities, hence the phrase of communities "sitting on the fence" of what's happening has been coined. One of the primary outcomes is a tool known as the Value Equity Analysis (VEA), which aims to bring stakeholders and rightholders together to a solution.

    Later on, we attended the COP28 opening ceremony. This event included a concluding speech by the COP27 president, Sameh Shoukry, where he addressed progress made toward COP27 goals since the end of the conference last year. After these remarks, we witnessed the passing of the gavel from the COP27 president to the new COP28 president, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, and finished our first day at COP28 by listening to some introductory remarks and pledges made by the new COP28 president before heading back on the Dubai Metro.

While the first day at my first COP initially feels overwhelming, I am excited for what is to come and to draw connections between what is being discussed at COP28 and what I am studying at Moravian. I hope to become more well-rounded throughout this journey in terms of the information that I absorb.

COP28: Day 1

 Waking up on the first day was a bit of a challenge. The thirteen-hour flight did us no favors, but we woke up ready for the conference. Getting there took about a twenty-minute walk, followed by a forty-five-minute train ride on the metro. Once we arrived, we walked into the massive entrance to Expo-City. The venue for this year's COP is massive and requires plenty of walking. First, we needed to get our badges, which we needed our passports and our acknowledgment letter. From leaving Airbnb to getting to the entrance of the COP, it took nearly two and a half hours. Our first stop was heading over to the Michigan Tech University Pavillion.

The first discussion we went to was led by Roman Sidortsov, a research fellow at Sussex University and now an associate professor at MTU. Roman is a project leader for the project JUSTNORTH, whose main focus was to assist with the decision-making process between rightsholders and stakeholders in the Arctic. This project was created to help build a foundation for future sustainable energy sources in the Arctic (ex: hydroelectric, windmills, etc.). A big issue that lies between the rightholders vs. the stakeholders is that there isn't a way to quantify the importance of certain things. This is where JUSTNORTH has created a tool called JUSTscore to help with the negotiation processes. 

The JUSTscore tool was made to help bridge ethics and personal value to a quantifiable value system. With the help of this tool, it can help certain activities that go on in the Arctic be an ethic-based decision rather than just an economical-based decision. 

This dialogue was very interesting since it's something that I haven't had an initial interest in. Seeing that there was a way to bridge a connection between rights and stakeholders rather than just making an economic decision was something that I wasn't sure existed. This presentation was definitely more on the policy end of the spectrum of environmental science, but learning about this will help me be a more well-rounded individual once I enter the workforce. 

We ended the day going to the Plenary, where the previous president of COP27 handed the torch to the new president, Sultan Al Jaber. I found a few things intriguing about his initial speech that will make the negotiations for this upcoming week interesting. One of the things that really stuck out was that Sultan Al Jaber emphasized the importance of fossil fuels when making a green transition. Sultan Al Jaber's case for oil and gas makes me concerned about the progress of this COP, especially considering that this conference is in a country that is heavily reliant on both of those fossil fuels for its economy. 

After a long day, we headed back to the Airbnb, worked on some homework, got dinner, and went to bed. I'm looking forward to spending the week here and learning about the different branches of environmentalism and the different perspectives of people all over the world.