COP28: An overview of the UN Climate Change Conference

When and where is the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference taking place? 

COP28 (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 28th Conference of the Parties) will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates in 2023. The UN Climate Change Conference will be held in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December. 

What are the goals of the UN Climate Change Conference? 

To assess how the world is doing in terms of climate action, a global stocktake is on the agenda at this year’s COP. The stocktake involves assessing the progress made so far and the measures being taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. The first ever stocktake will be concluded at COP28. The stocktake analyses the efforts undertaken by the signatories and other actors so far, and the results of these efforts, in order to assess progress towards meeting the climate targets and identifying necessary action. 

It is already clear that achieving the Paris Climate target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees above the pre-industrial level will require considerable further efforts. According to Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, the world needs to further lower its emissions and indeed halve them by 2030 in order to effectively mitigate the climate crisis. 

How does Germany intend to reach the climate targets? 

Germany wants to become climate-neutral by 2045. To this end, it has accelerated the expansion of renewable energies. Germany plans to obtain 80 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and increase this to 100 percent by 2035. 

As a result of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, coal use was temporarily stepped up in Germany. To compensate, Germany now plans to phase out fossil energy sources more quickly than it had been intending to do before the Russian invasion. Coal-fired power is to be phased out by 2038 by the latest, and ideally by 2030. 

What role does the “Loss and Damage Fund” play at COP28? 

At COP27, the signatory states agreed among other things to set up a so-called Loss and Damage Fund. The fund aims to provide financial support for those developing countries particularly affected by climate change and is seen as a historic step towards more climate justice. Following successful preliminary negotiations, the fund is to take concrete form at COP28.  

Germany believes that responsibility for financing the fund lies above all with the major emitters. State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action Jennifer Morgan stated that Germany “stands ready to fulfil its responsibility – we’re actively working towards contributing to the new fund and assessing options for more structural sources of financing”. 

Which countries are taking part in COP28? 

198 states have signed up to COP. More than 3,000 non-governmental organisations have observer status. COP is run by the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is based in Bonn. 

Detailed information about COP28 can be found here.