Dubai-based Emaar Properties and the UAE Prime Minister and Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum have announced that the United Arab Emirates will host the 28th session of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2023.
This is the UAE’s second hosting of the landmark climate change meeting. The first was in 2012, with a widely successful outcome in Paris.
“I am delighted that we have been able to work with the UAE Government, including the UAE Cabinet, to agree on this second staging of the conference. This proves our long-standing commitment to tackling climate change and reaffirms the UAE’s role as a global player in combating environmental challenges. The conference will draw together all global players to find practical solutions to be shared worldwide,” said UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa.
“Dubai Expo 2020 will serve as a catalyzing moment,” said UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. “We are proud to host the Conference in 2023 when Expo is under way, and to encourage all who wish to learn from, engage with and build on the Conference’s outcomes”.
“The successful hosting of the UN Climate Change Conference in the UAE by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in 2012, resulted in an overwhelming reception from countries and civil society and stimulated the pursuit of strong action to combat climate change,” said Dr. Abdullah Al Nafea, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Emaar Properties.
The 28th UNFCCC Conference of Parties (COP28) will be co-hosted by the governments of the UAE and China with responsibility for the conference’s business and economics agenda.
“The main issue ahead is for the conference to continue to build on the ‘Paris Agreement 2.0’, the pathway between pledges made in Paris and the realisation of global goals,” said Espinosa.
About UNFCCC
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the United Nations agreement regulating the international effort to address climate change.
The convention’s official term of reference is the Convention on Climate Change (CCC) and its guidelines are known as the Kyoto Protocol (KP), which is bound by its terms.
The CCC and KP are well complemented: the two documents share common goals in the area of international cooperation on climate change. However, the two systems of climate negotiations are distinct in important ways.
One is informal, the other formal; one focuses on objectives in terms of climate change mitigation, the other focuses on mitigation in terms of economic development.
The convention is constantly evolving in light of changing political priorities. A recent feature is the vision of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which calls for taking positive actions to combat the many and varied challenges of sustainable development and environmental protection.
The UAE and China have declared a five-year strategic cooperation plan, known as a “China-UAE Joint Action Plan”.