"Work Overload Due to Israel-Hamas War and Others"
Held in Dubai from the 30th... US Special Envoy Kelly to Attend
Attention on Whether Results Can Be Achieved at COP28
U.S. President Joe Biden has decided not to attend the 28th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP28), which will be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), starting on the 30th. It is reported that he made this decision due to exhaustion from recent hostage negotiations involving Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas.
Amid a slight decline in global interest in climate change issues due to geopolitical crises in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as concerns about economic recession, attention is focused on what outcomes this conference might produce.
On the 26th (local time), The New York Times (NYT), The Washington Post (WP), and others reported this citing White House officials and the official schedule released by the White House.
President Biden has consistently presented climate change as an important policy issue. In this context, he attended the UNFCCC Conferences of the Parties consecutively in 2021 and 2022. In his first year in office, he also rejoined the Paris Agreement from which the previous Trump administration had officially withdrawn.
The specific reasons for President Biden's absence have not been disclosed, but senior White House aides stated that he has been overwhelmed with work due to the Israel-Hamas war and other issues. Some suggest that with the presidential election coming up in November next year and recent polls showing him trailing former President Trump, it is not a situation where emphasizing climate change issues is feasible.
Similarly, Vice President Kamala Harris is also planning to skip COP28, according to her spokesperson. Instead of the President and Vice President, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and his team are expected to attend.
In an interview last week, Special Envoy Kerry hinted at Biden’s possible absence when asked if the President planned to attend COP28, saying, "They have many ongoing issues, including the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine." He also stated that at COP28, he would demand that countries like China, which continue to build coal-fired power plants, immediately halt such construction.
COP is an annual conference led by the United Nations (UN) involving about 200 countries to address climate change issues. The first meeting was held in Berlin, Germany, in 1995. Since then, the conference has been held continuously, making this the 28th year. Based on this, the current conference is named COP28.
The conference is expected to be attended by King Charles III of the United Kingdom, Pope Francis, and leaders from over 200 countries worldwide. Although there were concerns that Pope Francis might not attend due to the flu, he has decided to deliver a speech at COP28 as scheduled. This year’s conference is expected to be the largest ever, with over 70,000 attendees.
During the two-week COP28 starting on the 30th, world leaders will review the progress made toward achieving the 2015 Paris Agreement goal of limiting the global temperature rise to no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. While the goal has been set, specific implementation plans have not been detailed, so the focus will be on how and to what extent progress has been made.
Bloomberg reported, "Countries have struggled to implement the Paris Agreement," but "this year will be the first time that countries officially evaluate their progress."
COP28 will also discuss climate finance issues. Wealthy countries had promised to provide funding to help poorer nations respond to climate change, and the conference will review whether the pledged amounts are being secured as planned. Bloomberg noted that the original goal of raising $100 billion (approximately 130.6 trillion KRW) by 2020 was achieved last year.
However, due to the complex international situation involving the Israel-Palestine war and the burden on world leaders to find concrete methods to achieve greenhouse gas reduction targets, interest in this year’s conference has reportedly declined compared to previous years.
Foreign media are focusing on whether the conference can produce a joint statement or binding agreement on the final day. Previous meetings, such as COP21 in 2009 and COP25 in 2019, also failed to produce significant outcomes. Bloomberg pointed out that even if a joint statement is agreed upon, if many countries, especially small island nations, do not follow through with implementation, it will ultimately be considered a failure.
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