According to Carbon Tracker, this upcoming autumn has the potential to shape the world’s response to climate change over the next decade, influencing the global path to net-zero emissions and our ability to keep warming within the 1.5°C limit. This is a pivotal time for climate change.
Consider what lies ahead in the coming months. On September 9-10, President Modi will convene the G20 Leaders Summit in New Delhi, with climate concerns taking a prominent spot on the agenda.
Later in the month, the UN Secretary-General will host the Climate Ambition Summit in New York, underlining the need for substantial and credible contributions.
Following this, an International Climate and Energy Summit is scheduled for October 2, 2023, in Madrid. Co-hosted by the Spanish Vice-President and the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), this summit will emphasize the urgency of accelerating the global transition to clean energy.
These pivotal events will be supported by a series of significant reports addressing various aspects of this transition. Notably, the IEA will update its groundbreaking 2021 Net-Zero 2050 Report, and the Stockholm Environment Institute will release a new edition of its Production Gap Report after two years of absence.
However, the most significant event is on the horizon: COP28 in Dubai. This COP stands out as a critical landmark in the timeline established in the Paris Agreement of 2015. Notably, this COP will feature the COP President, Sultan Al Jaber, also serving as the head of a major national oil company, the Abu Dhabi Oil Company (ADNOC). COP28 gains added importance given the growing urgency of the climate crisis.
A central focus of COP28 will be the Global Stocktake (GST), which is a crucial assessment of global progress towards the goals of the Paris Agreement. The GST presents an opportunity to evaluate climate action and support, identify gaps, and collaborate on solutions for the future.
The context is made even more significant by recent findings from climate scientists, notably the IPCC’s March AR6 Synthesis Report. These findings emphasize the risks of climate change and the need to depart from business-as-usual approaches, particularly concerning fossil fuel production.
Against this backdrop, with a COP hosted by a significant oil and gas producer and substantial political investment throughout the autumn, the Director-General of IRENA’s description of this period as a “moment of truth” seems fitting.
Source: Carbon Tracker “Autumn 2023: Crunch Time for the Climate, and for Climate COPs“, by author Richard Folland
