COP28: Problems and Progress at the Climate Meeting

newsforkids.net/articles/2023/12/05/cop28-problems-and-progress-at-the-climate-meeting

NFK Editors - December 5, 2023

Dubai —(Map)

Since last Thursday, representatives of hundreds of nations have been talking at an

important climate meeting in Dubai. There has been progress, but there are also challenges.
The biggest question is whether to end fossil fuels or just reduce them.

Climate Crisis
Since people first began burning coal to run factories, the world’s temperature has gone up
by 1.1 degrees Celsius (C)**. This increase has led to serious long-term changes in weather
patterns that affect all life on Earth.
The world is getting hotter, mainly because humans are burning “fossil fuels” like coal, oil,
and natural gas to make energy. These fuels give off pollution called “greenhouse gases” or
“carbon emissions”, which make the climate emergency worse.
The effects of climate change can already be seen: melting ice in Antarctica and the
Arctic, higher temperatures, heat waves, droughts, wildfires, record rains, and more strong
hurricanes.
Scientists say the world must take strong action before 2030, and limit global warming to
1.5ºC to avoid the worst effects of the climate crisis.

In 2015, the world’s countries signed the “Paris Agreement” to work together to try to limit
global warming to 1.5ºC. In recent years, world leaders have held follow-up meetings like
COP26 and COP27.* The meetings are meant to check in on how the world is doing in its
fight against the climate crisis, and to reach agreements on next steps.
This year’s meeting, COP28, is being held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). One of the
big questions about COP28 is whether countries will agree to stop producing oil and gas
(called a “phase-out”), or will simply agree to produce less (a “phase-down”).

Most experts agree that to limit global warming as much as possible, the world needs to end
the use of coal and oil. Over 100 countries say that COP28 should lead to a deal to phase
out fossil fuels. “The science is clear,” said UN leader Antonio Guterres, “The 1.5 degree
target is only possible if we finally stop burning fossil fuels.”

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Over 100 countries say that COP28 should lead to a deal to phase out fossil fuels. But the
UAE is a major oil producer. And the president of this year’s meeting, Sultan Al Jaber
(above), leads the UAE’s largest oil company. Many people say that Mr. Jaber isn’t the right
choice to lead the meeting.
But the UAE is a major oil producer. And the president of this year’s meeting, Sultan Al
Jaber, leads the UAE’s largest oil company. Many people say that, because of his
connections, Mr. Jaber isn’t the right choice to lead the meeting.

Even before the meeting began, there were reports that the UAE was using COP28 to try to
make deals to sell more oil. On Sunday, a video came out showing Mr. Jaber claiming there
was “no science” supporting a phase-out of fossil fuels, which isn’t true. Mr. Jaber denies
that the UAE is using COP28 to make oil deals. He also says his comments were
misunderstood. “We very much believe and respect the science,” he said.

In spite of the disagreements, some progress is being made. One important step is a deal to
set aside a large amount of money (a “fund“) to help the countries being hit hardest by
climate change. Most of the money would come from richer countries, which have created a
lot of the pollution that led to the climate crisis.

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The meeting reached a deal to set aside money to help the countries hit hardest by climate
change. Many affected countries are in the southern part of the world. Above, Brazilian
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks at the meeting. Mr. da Silva suggested a plan to
protect rainforests.
A number of countries have also announced that they’re putting huge amounts of money
toward tackling the crisis. For example, UAE says it’s putting $30 billion toward climate
action. But big promises have been made at previous COP meetings, and not all of those
promises have been kept.
Progress on controlling the dangerous greenhouse gas methane is probably COP28’s
biggest success so far. The US has announced a plan to cut methane pollution by 80% over
the next 15 years. Many other countries are working on similar programs. Cutting methane
pollution will have a rapid and powerful effect on global warming.

COP28 is just in its first week, and the meeting will continue until December 12. Many people
are hoping for a lot more progress over the next seven days.

* COP stands for “Conference of the Parties”, which basically means “Meeting of the countries that signed
the agreement”. In this case, the agreement is the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change. This was the 28th meeting since the agreement was first signed.

If you want to think about the temperature changes in Fahrenheit( F), you can use these figures: 1.1°C =
2.0°F, 1.5°C = 2.7°F, 2°C = 3.6°F.