COP28 Global Stocktake Committee
The COP28 Global Stocktake High-Level Committee (HLC) releases meeting highlights and summarizes three high-level meetings on climate change mitigation, adaptation, and measures.
The three high-level meetings held at COP28 have received support from many regulatory agencies and United Nations organizations and have been promoted by the organizers of COP26 and COP27. The contents of the three high-level meetings covered multiple areas of climate change.
Related Post: COP28 Releases Net Zero Transition Charter
Highlights from the COP28 High-level Meetings
This conference believes that climate change has caused the world to face unprecedented challenges. Although the Paris Agreement prompted various stakeholders to take climate action, the current global warming path is still off course. The world needs support to accelerate the entire agenda, and the Global Stocktake (GST) is an important opportunity to strengthen climate action. GST will integrate Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), National Adaptation Plans (NDP) and other climate policies under the principles of fairness and science to provide guidance for global actions.
The world must adopt a comprehensive, multi-sectoral and whole-of-society response to climate action to ensure a fair and just transition, consistent with sustainable development and poverty eradication efforts. Protecting ecosystem integrity and protecting biodiversity are also priorities in climate action. At the same time, Non-Party Stakeholders (NPS) including companies, investors, indigenous peoples, etc. will also play an important role in climate action.
Key Points for Mitigating Climate Change
The COP28 meeting believed that the world needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions rapidly and continuously in a scientific manner and use available technologies to achieve decarbonization of industry and transportation. To ensure the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming target, NDCs need to cover more sectors and strengthen financing support to achieve net zero emissions by mid-century or sooner. In terms of energy transition, global renewable energy production capacity needs to be tripled and energy efficiency needs to be doubled in 2030. The energy transition requires the gradual reduction of fossil fuel use and the initiative of developed countries to reduce fossil fuel subsidy policies.
Natural ecosystems play an important role in limiting temperature rise, and countries should strengthen the protection of forests and oceans. Developing countries can gain experience from developed countries through technology transfer to help with transition.
Key Points for Adapting to Climate Change
The COP28 meeting recognized that climate change has affected life around the world. Strengthening adaptation actions, reducing vulnerability, and increasing resilience is another important measure to solve climate problems. The current funding gap for global adaptation actions is US$194 billion to US$366 billion. The amount of funds invested in adaptation actions should be doubled in 2025. Developing countries’ access to donations and preferential financing policies is the key to adaptation actions. Natural ecosystems play an important role in adapting to climate change, and ecosystem-based adaptation actions should focus on terrestrial and marine ecosystems.
The world should establish an adaptation goal framework for different themes and goals and reduce damage through comprehensive risk management and early warning. This can be managed through a Loss and Damage Fund.
Measures to be Taken in the Future
The COP28 meeting recognized that large-scale, accessible, and affordable financing is a condition for implementing climate plans, which can increase financial flows from the public and private sectors and achieve low-carbon emissions and climate-resilient development. Financial instruments for climate finance, such as blended finance and green bonds, can encourage decarbonization.
For the international financial system, debt reform will be central to reduce the debt burden of developing countries. In addition, strengthening climate capacity building and technology development and transfer can also support climate action.
Reference:
COP28 First Global Stocktake High-Level Committee – Summary
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