World leaders and authorities begin speaking at COP28, the UN Climate Conference, this Friday (1st). The event is held in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.
Among those present, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), António Guterres, secretary general of the UN, and King Charles III, of the United Kingdom, have scheduled speeches.
Leaders will have the task of discussing the future of the environment and how to avoid a global climate catastrophe, in what has already become known among scientists as “the hottest year in history”, according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Change of Climate (UNFCCC).
Around 70,000 people will be involved in this year’s discussions, which will run until December 12th.
Lula will also have a series of meetings with authorities from other countries. The president is accompanied by a delegation that includes Marina Silva, from Environment and Climate Change, and Mauro Vieira, from Foreign Affairs.
The Brazilian president will also take advantage of his participation to try to close a political pact for the approval of the free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, as revealed by Américo Martins, special envoy of the CNN to the United Arab Emirates.
King Charles III, known for his environmental activism, is expected to advocate greater global action and accountability on the climate crisis, telling delegates that “the Earth does not belong to us, we belong to the Earth”.
This will be Charles’ first major speech on climate change since he became king in September 2022. Last year, he was advised not to attend COP27, which took place in Egypt.
According to Reuters, the monarch is expected to say: “I pray with all my heart that COP28 will be a critical turning point for genuine transformational action.” Charles will also meet with other world authorities.
Absences of Pope Francis and Joe Biden
Pope Francis would also go to COP28, but had to cancel his trip to Dubai after being diagnosed with acute infectious bronchitis.
Still, the Pontiff asked conference delegates to “focus on the common good and the future of their children, and not on the particular interests of certain countries or companies.”
Joe Biden, president of the United States, is also unlikely to attend, at least in person, the climate summit. The North American leader has focused his international agenda on issues related to the war in the Gaza Strip. Chinese President Xi Jinping will also not attend the event.
Topics that will be discussed
The list of environmental themes at the COP28 discussion tables is vast. However, among the main issues that will be debated are:
- Mechanisms to limit global warming to 1.5 °C compared to pre-industrial levels;
- Measures to protect forests and how to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050;
- Ways to assist countries considered most vulnerable, which are generally those most impacted by extreme temperatures;
- How to put into practice a loss and damage fund for developing countries, the result of an agreement at last year’s conference.
Review of the Paris agreement
This will be the first stage of the so-called “Global Stocktake”, a balance that allows countries to review their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which are the goals established in the Paris Agreement, at COP21, to reduce global warming.
The set of goals is considered the main parameter for reducing greenhouse gases.
The UNFCCC highlighted, in its statement, the importance of this review. “The global stocktaking should be a catalyst for greater ambition in meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement, as nations prepare to present revised national climate action plans by 2025,” says the note.
The Brazilian NDC, updated in 2023, predicts that Brazil must reduce its own emissions by 48% by 2025 and 53% by 2030, in relation to emissions recorded in 2005.
The country also intends to achieve “net emissions” of greenhouse gases by 2050, that is, the idea is that Brazil will be able to offset all gas emissions.
*published by Tiago Tortella, from CNN
*with information from Mathias Brotero and Letícia Brito, from CNN, and Reuters
Source: CNN Brasil
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