Introduction
United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as the Conference of the Parties
This is taking place in Dubai from 30th November until 12 December this year with Dr Sultan Al Jaber presiding. 70 world ministers and delegates from over 100 countries will be in attendance. The main hub of action is the Green Zone which is open to the public, private sectors, media, youth and non-government organisations. Areas covered are Energy, Knowledge, Climate Finance, Technology and Innovation, Humanitarian, Youth and Greening Education. The Ministerial Head of Delegation for the UK is the Rt Hon Graham Stuart, Conservative MP for Beverley and Holderness, who is Minister of State for Energy, Security and Net Zero.
COP27 was held in Egypt at which attendant countries agreed to the creation of a Loss and Damage Fund to help countries in the global south who are most vulnerable to climate change so they can rebuild after climate disasters. Emphasis was placed on phasing out fossil fuels and building climate resilient societies.
COP28 is particularly important for several reasons not least because it marks the conclusion of the first global stocktake to see how much progress has been made since the Paris Agreement. This legally binding treaty on climate change was adopted in 2015 at COP21. During this year’s Conference many high-level events will take place in the context of this year’s extremes of weather – fires, floods and high global surface temperatures for example.
Further information about COP28 can be obtained from United Nations, Chatham House, Christian Aid, and Climate Justice Coalition.
Keep checking this page for any further information and updates.
Latest News
13th December
The Conference overan by a day but delegates are on their way home now. Will the site now look like Glastonbury’s – abandoned and covered in litter? Hopefully not.
The delay was caused by failure to sign the Agreement yesterday which set out the world’s collective progress in relation to the Paris Agreement. The main contentious part of the document was the wording around the use of fossil fuels. Some members felt that it was a step in the right direction while others felt it was not worded strongly enough – fossil fuels should be phased out and not just phased down. The UK is still expanding plans for oil and gas at a time when poorer nations are struggling with the adverse effects of climate change.
Much travel and much talk but what does it mean for the UK? Greener Basingstoke is a non-partisan group of volunteers but the climate emergency is no longer a political matter. Therefore members have signed a letter asking for the government to reconsider their watered down climate strategy. We have also signed an open letter to the Prime Minister drafted by the Climate Coalition. Our Member of Parliament, Dame Maria Miller, has also been contacted.
Much travel and much talk but what does it mean for Basingstoke? Basingstoke and Deane District Council set a target to be a carbon neutral council by 2025 and to be a net zero borough by 2030. Greener Basingstoke are working closely with the Climate Emergency Team and Green Team who are employed by the Council and we are regular attenders at Council meetings. The Council has invested money to make Basingstoke more sustainable. More information on their Climate Action Plan is available on www.basingstoke.gov./uk. Also of interest is www.sustainable-basingstoke.co.uk .
Much travel and much talk but what does it mean for local people? At times it is possible to feel powerless especially with heart-breaking stories in the media, but as individuals we can play a small part – reduce our personal carbon footprint, keep in touch with organisations such as World Wildlife Organisation, Friends of the Earth, Climate Coalition and take part in national initiatives such as Buy Nothing January.
Please keep visiting this website for more local events being planned – Meet the Green Team (probably in January), Climate Change and Basingstoke (probably in February) and later in the year Green Week from 8th to 16th June.
12th December
Today is the scheduled closing day of COP 28 and last night a 21 page draft outcomes text was released. This did not give a commitment to phasing out fossil fuels after so much discussion and is not acceptable to the United States, European Union and civil society groups and the agreement has been described as ‘watered down’. Sir Alok Sharman who was MP for Reading West and chaired COP 26 in Glasgow is reported as saying that as it stands the agreement is unlikely to lead to a rapid cut in emissions.
A fierce debate is anticipated today over the wording of the agreement which uses terms like ‘phasing down’ not ‘phasing out’ of fossil fuels. Maybe there will less disappointing news tomorrow when the Agreement is finally signed but COP 29 is taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, another petrostate. This does not bode well for islanders with homes flooded by rising sea levels nor farmers with failed crops due to drought.
11th December
Two days left until the Conference ends and a wish for an increased sense of urgency in acknowledging the climate crisis throughout the world, it has been announced that Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, has rejoined these last two days.
It has been hard to do justice here to the size and scope of all the discussions over the past few days but it is important to mention that race, gender and disability discrimination have been covered.
As we prepare ourselves for final comments tomorrow in the wish that pledges and promises will be fulfilled, we hope that fossil fuels will be phased out and not down, that ways will be found to cut methane levels, that more global finance will be provided and that the food industry will be decarbonised.
10th December
This day was set aside for discussions on nature and land use. It was also the day that the United Nations reported that a staggering seven trillion dollars of public and private money is spent supporting activities that harm nature. The full report is available on the un.org website – depressing reading.
Members of Greener Basingstoke and Natural Basingstoke all work together due to their shared concerns about local biodiversity, the last event being a combined stand at Castle Square as part of Rural Day last month.
9th December
Today saw a number of GB members gathered outside The Malls as part of the Global Day of Action for climate change. This was to raise the profile of COP 28 and to gather signatures on a letter to our Member of Parliament, Dame Maria Miller, protesting about the lack of action by the government on environmental matters. This was successful, the Police were satisfied that no law had been broken and members of Basingstoke and Dean Borough Council were nearby with their own stand which presented a great opportunity for networking.
Another day for youth groups to represent the views of over 2 billion children in the world as well as presentations on Nature, Land, and Ocean systems. As the conference begins to draw to a close with many plenary sessions, the final presentations tomorrow will consider food, agriculture and water. Greener Basingstoke would sum this up in just a few words – stop using fossil fuels, invest in renewables instead and eat less meat.
8th December
Today features a number of youth-led initiatives including a look at the Power of Sport for Climate Change and Storytelling for Climate Action. Present at this Conference are a number of Youth non-government organisations who have an important voice. Another session will be asking for a commitment to climate education in schools and universities.
This evening two young people from Mexico and Kenya respectively will be receiving UN Global Climate Action Awards. There were contenders from 120 countries and they were selected for their outstanding contributions to their communities with regard to sustainability, resilience and equitability.
Tomorrow marks the Global Day of Action for Climate Justice which includes events organised by several universities throughout the country. For more information visit climatejustice.org.uk.
7th December
Today marks the COP 28 half way mark and the venue is closed all day to encourage participants to have a break.
6th December
There are a number of plenary sessions today. It is also Urbanization and Transport Day. The annual youth round table/youth climate forum takes place in preparation for Friday’s Youth Climate Dialogue.
Today also considers finance and socially responsible investing. Earlier this year members of Greener Basingstoke hosted a talk given by thepath.co.uk entitled ‘How Green is Your Money?’ Maybe not at the same level as COP and certainly not reported by the 1,293 media organizations present there, but it could be repeated locally if there is sufficient interest.
5th December
Having previously mentioned that Friends of the Earth were planning to present a letter to Rishi Sunak at COP, members of Greener Basingstoke were interested to receive today a request from them to sign a letter addressed to him. More information is available here.
Today’s sessions have a focus on green cities including finance for sustainable urbanisation. Of particular interest to members of the Greener Basingstoke Recycling Focus Group looking into Sustainable Fashion are those entitled ‘Runway to Net Zero in the Fashion Industry’ and ‘The Global Fashion Agenda’. There are official video recordings of some meetings available on the UNFCC website so these two will be followed up.
4th December
Yesterday the United Nations Climate and Environment Report announced that flooding in Somalia has uprooted more than one million people and killed 110. Events such as this can lead to outbreaks of cholera for example so the climate crisis is also a health crisis, an important area to be discussed at COP 28.
Today’s topic is important for small islands in particular – looking for international support to scale up renewable energy, energy efficiency, decarbonisation and money for small islands. Smaller countries make the least contribution to global warming yet pay the highest price.
Friends of the Earth planned to present a letter to Rishi Sunak while he was at COP 28 asking for a rewrite of the UK climate plan so that the promised 2030 target to cut emissions is met. Greener Basingstoke to date has not heard whether he received it.
3rd December
One of today’s main themes is Health. Perhaps here in the UK our health is not so noticeably impacted but speakers today spoke of illness and death caused by extreme weather events as well as starvation due to disruptions in the food supply chain. The global food community needs to come together, working collectively to look into ways of solving this problem. Living in one of the richest nations, it is hard to envisage physical and mental health problems caused by climate change which particularly affect people living in the global south.
2nd December
King Charles attended yesterday. He described the Conference as having to be a turning point as the world is still far off from meeting its target of keeping long term global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees, as agreed in the Parish Agreement of 2015. Rishi Sunak put in a brief appearance to state that the UK is a long way ahead and a strong world leader in this. As predicted, the Pope was unable to attend due to ill health but his passionate statement was read out on his behalf. He has been dedicated to environmental issues throughout his Papacy.
The President of COP 28 is Sultan al-Jaber who is also the head of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company which has been producing 2.7 million barrels of oil per day with plans to double this in the future. He agrees that fossil fuels are at the heart of the climate crisis but believes the industry can be changed from the inside. On day 1 of this Summit countries agreed to commit at least 420 million dollars for areas suffering the effects of global warming.
1st December
Today begins with the opening ceremony by the President. King Charles III will be delivering a speech alongside many other Heads of State presenting their own national statements. The theme for the rest of the day is Innovation and Entrepreneurship and there will be a focus on Technology. The Green Zone will be open after the weekend and the national press report that our Prime Minister will be present tomorrow although the Pope is not now expected due to ill health.
Greener Basingstoke members hope the Conference will show a sense of urgency about climate change and concentrate on thinking about the well-being of the world rather than wealth and political gain. Some members will be attending events in Portsmouth and London and a group will be present near the Basingstoke train station on the morning of 9th December.