The UAE has a distinguished path in working for the environment, which coincided with its establishment in the early seventies of the last century. The UAE is keen to actively participate in all conferences and events seeking to reach sustainable solutions that contribute to overcoming the challenges of climate change. Encouraging innovative initiatives locally and internationally.
Through an extended qualitative journey, the UAE has been keen to be an active participant in the sessions of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP), to present its initiatives in environmental protection and its pioneering model in sustainability, and to learn about the experiences of other countries in addressing environmental issues. The last ten editions of the conference witnessed an active and distinguished presence of the UAE, as the country participated in advancing, accelerating and intensifying global efforts to work for the climate and protecting the planet, in addition to launching pioneering initiatives to promote environmental sustainability in the world.
With the escalation of climate changes during the past years, the world is looking forward to the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), which will be hosted by the UAE from November 30 to December 12 of this year at Dubai Expo City, as a new impetus for global efforts seeking to Implementation of pledges and commitments to solve climate change issues.
The international process of negotiations to combat climate change began during the Earth Summit held in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Following this summit, the official body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was formed with the aim of allowing the ecosystem to achieve sustainable development and stabilize greenhouse gases within a time frame. The Convention entered into force in 1994, and has been ratified by 199 participating countries and organizations, in addition to the European Union.
The first session of the Climate Summit (COP1) was launched in the German city of Berlin in 1995, and it set goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and it was decided to hold an annual meeting, and these meetings were postponed only on one occasion in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as (COP26) was postponed ) to 2021 instead of 2020.
Support efforts to achieve the Paris Agreement
The UAE recorded an active and distinguished participation in the (COP27) conference held in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh last year, where it participated with a variety of delegations amounting to more than 70 government and private institutions, a number of policy makers, negotiators, business leaders, and a variety of business leaders. Women, youth and civil society organizations.
The participating delegations worked to consolidate the close partnership between the UAE and the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt, and to support its presidency of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) and its endeavors towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, in addition to linking the results and outputs between the two conferences of the parties (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh and (COP28) hosted by the UAE. UAE this year.
And within the activities of (COP27), the UAE announced the global launch of the Crimean Climate Alliance in partnership with the Republic of Indonesia, as the alliance aims to support, enhance and expand the areas of mangrove forests globally as one of the nature-based solutions to meet the challenge of climate change, and efforts to absorb and isolate greenhouse gas emissions globally. Where mangroves contribute to enhancing the response to the repercussions of climate change such as hurricanes, storms, and floods, they are also a store of carbon up to four times greater than the wild tropical rainforests, and provide fertile areas and safe natural habitats for marine biodiversity.
The UAE also revealed, as part of its participation in the activities of (COP27), the national track for climate neutrality 2050, which represents the time frame for the mechanisms and stages of implementation of the UAE strategic initiative to strive to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, which was announced in October 2021.
The track set the climate ambition ceiling to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and aims to achieve an 18% reduction in emissions compared to the target reduction rates in the updated report of the second Nationally Determined Contributions, under the Paris Agreement by 2030, and then reach the reduction rates to 60% by 2040, and reach the degree of neutrality. by 2050.
Promoting future solutions to climate challenges
During its participation in the (COP26) conference in Glasgow, Britain, in 2021, the UAE announced a road map for achieving leadership in the field of hydrogen, which is a comprehensive national plan aimed at supporting local low-carbon industries, contributing to achieving climate neutrality and strengthening the country’s position as a source of hydrogen, within the framework of Consolidate the directions of the UAE leadership to promote future solutions to global climate challenges.
The roadmap for achieving leadership in the field of hydrogen included three basic goals, which are to open new sources of value creation by exporting low-carbon hydrogen and its derivatives and products to the main import regions, and to enhance opportunities for new hydrogen derivatives through low-carbon steel and sustainable kerosene, in addition to other priority industries. Which contribute to achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
On the sidelines of the Climate Summit (COP26), the UAE, in cooperation with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), also launched a global platform to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy projects and solutions in developing countries, and pledged $400 million through the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development to support the platform in Fundraising of at least one billion dollars.
Innovative solutions to adapt to the repercussions of climate change
The UAE participated in the work of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP25) in the Spanish capital, Madrid, in 2019. The delegation included in its membership nearly 90 members representing a group of government sector agencies and institutions, in addition to 41 young men and women from a number of institutions. Academy in the Emirates.
During the conference, the UAE called on the international community to intensify global attention to efforts to adapt to the repercussions of climate change, and to work to disseminate innovative technologies and solutions that support mechanisms to achieve this adaptation.
Local initiatives to promote sustainability
During its participation in (COP24) in the Polish city of Katowice in 2018, the UAE stressed the need to accelerate the pace of global commitment to the provisions of the Paris Climate Agreement, and work to reduce the causes of climate change and mitigate its repercussions, in order to protect the lives of millions of people around the world from the negative effects of climate phenomena. The world is witnessing its severity clearly, including the increasing fires, floods and droughts.
During the conference, the UAE reviewed the most important achievements it has made within its specific national contributions to the Paris Agreement, in addition to shedding light on local initiatives to enhance sustainability, including the adoption of a package of legislation, laws and strategies aimed at reducing the causes of climate change and limiting the negative effects of its repercussions and working to adapt to it, as well as The state’s efforts in the field of clean and renewable energy, its role in protecting the environment in general, and empowering young people who represent the backbone of dealing with important issues on the international scene.
The country also reviewed its efforts at the global level in terms of development assistance and international investments in the renewable energy sector, through government and private sector institutions in the country.
Empowering Youth for the Climate
The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment launched the Youth Empowerment for Climate Program on the sidelines of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP23) in Bonn, Germany in 2017, where the UAE government worked to design and manage the program in partnership with the Youth Climate Lab and in cooperation with governments and organizations. international participation.
The program aimed to enhance the participation of young people in the United Nations climate negotiations and the development of national policies related to climate change, by providing them with fruitful opportunities in the areas of policy research and development of solutions.
The program worked to connect young people with experienced negotiators, policy makers, and high-level representatives from governments and members of international organizations, to guide them and provide them with knowledge and expertise.
Urgent and systematic measures to support developing countries
During its participation in the COP22 conference in Marrakech, Morocco, in 2016, the UAE stressed the need to expedite the translation of the decisions of the Paris Climate Conference 2015 into practical programs and projects that contribute to reducing the repercussions of global warming that threaten the planet.
The country stressed the importance of transforming the provisions of the Paris Agreement into realistic actions, which requires redoubling efforts, coordination and cooperation at all levels, locally, regionally and globally, which requires adopting a flexible methodology that allows all countries, especially developing ones, to take urgent measures that are in line with national priorities and take into account special circumstances. in every country.
Historic agreement to combat climate change
The UAE participated with an official delegation in the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21), which was hosted by the French capital, Paris, in 2015, where the UAE’s pioneering initiatives and projects resonated internationally and attracted the world’s attention to its promising future.
During the (COP21) conference, the Paris Agreement was adopted, as the parties participating in the conference reached a historic agreement to combat climate change, accelerate the intensification of actions and investments necessary for a sustainable future with low carbon emissions, and enhance the global response by limiting the increase in the planet’s temperature to more than 1.5 degrees by 2050. In addition to calling for the necessity of reviewing and lifting pledges and providing financial assistance to the countries of the South.
Successful international partnerships
In 2014, the city of Lima, Peru, hosted the COP20 conference, and at the conclusion of its meetings, the summit issued the “Lima Declaration,” which included an accurate framework for the national contributions that each country must communicate about in the framework of preparing for the Paris Agreement.
The UAE participated with a high-level delegation led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in the conference, and the country affirmed its commitment to serious and continuous work in order to reach an effective global agreement on climate change, as the UAE has been urging and encouraging all countries to join efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change. The country also has a proven track record of successful partnerships with both developed and developing countries to reach effective solutions to reduce the repercussions of climate change.
Turning challenges into opportunities and more
The COP19 conference, which was held in the Polish city of Warsaw in 2013, ended with the agreement that all countries start reducing emissions as soon as possible, and the term “specific emissions” was coined.
During the conference, the UAE highlighted the country’s practical achievements that contribute to addressing the repercussions of climate change. Take advantage of the many opportunities currently offered by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, including activating mechanisms to start providing financing to developing countries, and ensuring the successful work of the Climate Technology Center and Network mechanism to enable and facilitate technology development and transfer.
Establishing concepts of sustainable development
During the COP18 conference held in Qatar in 2012, the UAE affirmed its continued commitment to international efforts aimed at confronting climate change and working with its regional partners to reach effective responses to this global challenge.
During the conference, the UAE reviewed its achievements in the field of renewable energy and its relentless pursuit to achieve and establish concepts of sustainable development.
And the (COP18) summit reached the beginning of talks on a new global international agreement that would be an alternative to “Kyoto” and legally binding on all countries.
Reducing emissions and reducing global warming
The next edition of the (COP28) conference hosted by the UAE this year will witness the first global outcome to assess progress made in implementing the goals of the Paris Agreement, which provides an important and decisive station for unifying visions and responding to scientific reports that indicate the need to cut emissions in half by 2030 to progress in achieving this goal. Achieving the goal of limiting the global warming to above 1.5°C by 2050.
The COP28 conference also marks a turning point in the march of global efforts to confront the challenges of climate change, increase financing, and raise the ceiling of ambitions and commitments of countries towards transforming climate challenges into sustainable economic and development opportunities that enhance global measures to mitigate the consequences of climate change.
#Emirati #participation #COP #active #qualitative #presence #face #challenges #climate #change #protect #planet