COP28: Emirates announce fund for climate projects

Environment - COP28: Emirates announce fund for climate projects

At the World Climate Change Conference in Dubai, the host, the United Arab Emirates, announced a new investment fund with a volume of 30 billion US dollars (27.5 billion euros) to channel more capital into climate protection projects. The focus is on markets in developing countries, the COP28 presidency announced. Together with private donors, a total of up to 250 billion dollars is to be mobilized by 2030.

According to the announcement, the planned investments will focus on the climate-friendly energy transition, the corresponding conversion of industrial processes and new climate protection technologies. COP President Sultan al-Jaber, who is already head of the state-owned oil and gas company Adnoc, will chair the supervisory board of the fund called Alterra. The exact criteria according to which the projects will be selected initially remained unclear.

King Charles warns against indifference

King Charles III has already urged the participants of the World Climate Conference to take swift action against climate change. The world's hopes rest on the heads of state and government, said the British monarch in Dubai. He hoped that COP28 would be a "critical turning point towards real transformational action". "The earth does not belong to us, we belong to the earth," said Charles.

The monarch warned against indifference. "Records are now being broken so often that we may be becoming immune to what they are actually telling us," Charles said, referring to data from researchers on ever warmer temperatures. "We are conducting a huge, frightening experiment where we are changing every ecological state at once, at a rate that far outstrips nature's ability to cope," he said.

Despite some progress, warning signs of climate change are still being ignored, the 75-year-old criticized. "Some important progress has been made, but I am very concerned that we have lost our way so terribly." The amount of CO2 and methane in the atmosphere has increased enormously. This would have devastating consequences for livelihoods around the world.

The King has been known for decades for his commitment to the environment and nature. He opened the COP21 in Paris in 2015 while still heir to the throne. As King, however, he can no longer express himself as clearly as before, as he is obliged to maintain strict political neutrality. A few weeks ago, Charles therefore had to announce controversial plans by the Conservative British government to massively expand oil and gas production in the North Sea.

Guterres: Only world leaders can cure "disease"

UN Secretary-General António Guterres also emphatically called on heads of state and government to take action against climate change. "Polar ice and glaciers are disappearing before our eyes, causing chaos around the world: from landslides and floods to rising sea levels," said Guterres in Dubai. "But this is just one symptom of the disease that is bringing our climate to its knees. A disease that only you, the leaders of the world, can cure."

He had recently been on the melting ice of Antarctica and not long before that on the melting glaciers of Nepal. "These two places are far apart, but connected in crisis." Guterres emphasized: "The Earth's vital signs are failing." But it is not too late to take action, he said. Economies and companies around the world must switch to renewable energies. COP28 must be a "game changer", the UN Secretary-General demanded.

"Global warming is blowing up budgets, driving up food prices, turning energy markets upside down and fueling a crisis in the cost of living," he said. But climate protection could still flip the switch.

Brazil's president: "We don't have two planet Earths"

According to its President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil wants to lead the way in climate protection. "We don't have two planet Earths," he said at the World Climate Conference in Dubai.

There was an urgent need to make faster progress and protect the "unique species of humanity". Brazil has already significantly reduced deforestation in the Amazon and, according to the President, aims to reduce it to zero by 2030. Among comparable countries, Brazil has one of the most ambitious climate protection plans.

Brazil will host the World Climate Conference in 2025 and is therefore already insisting on more ambition here in Dubai, partly because it suffers from extreme droughts itself. At the last World Climate Conference in Egypt, Lula da Silva - shortly after his election and before taking office - was celebrated by climate activists.

The world's largest rainforest - home to ten percent of the world's species - has been under threat for decades anyway: due to drought, river pollution, fires and deforestation. Despite the decline, Brazil is still a long way from its declared goal of "zero deforestation".

Von der Leyen calls for expansion of CO2 pricing

Meanwhile, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is campaigning for a determined expansion of carbon pricing systems. "We all know that: If we want to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees, we have to reduce global emissions," she said.

Carbon pricing is one of the most powerful tools to reduce climate-damaging emissions and at the same time promote innovation and growth. Heavy polluters would then have to pay a fair price and the revenue could be reinvested in the fight against climate change.

Von der Leyen cited the CO2 pricing system in the European Union as a positive example of CO2 pricing. In the 18 years since its launch, the emissions covered by the system have fallen by almost 40 percent, while the economy has continued to grow, she said. "We have raised more than 175 billion euros and this has been used exclusively for climate protection, innovation and developing countries."

According to the German politician, there are already 73 CO2 pricing instruments worldwide. However, these only cover 23 percent of global emissions. "This proportion must be increased," warned von der Leyen. This would enable a faster reduction in emissions and create a level playing field for international trade.

Lithuania, Latvia and Poland boycott family photo

The presidents of Lithuania, Latvia and Poland previously boycotted the joint family photo. According to the Lithuanian presidential chancellery in Vilnius, the heads of state of the three EU and NATO states rejected the photo because they did not want to be in the same picture as Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko. "Lukashenko is not part of the family we want to belong to," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda was quoted as saying in a statement.