COP28 sees new era for climate action with $57 bln pledge; Sri Lanka’s proposals need approval

ECONOMYNEXT – The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) has witnessed governments, businesses, investors, and philanthropies announcing support of over $57 billion across the climate agenda in just the first four days of the global event with eight pledges and declarations receiving historic support.

After a historic deal to operationalize a fund for climate impact response on the first day, announcements have poured in across the entire climate agenda, including on finance, health, food, nature, and energy.

On climate finance, the COP28 host United Arab Emirates launched a $30 billion catalytic fund, ALTÉRRA, with an emphasis on unlocking private finance across the Global South.

The host nation also has announced $200 million for SDRs and $150 million for water scarcity.

The World Bank has announced an increase of $9 billion annually to finance climate-related projects, while the first two days of COP28 saw $725 million in pledges after a historic response to loss and damage was operationalized.

Eight new declarations have been announced which are expected to help transform every major system of the global economy.

These include the first ever declarations on food systems transformation and health, plus declarations on renewable energy and efficiency, as well as initiatives to decarbonize heavy emitting industries.

The eight declarations are:

• The Global Renewables and Energy Efficiency Pledge has been endorsed by 119 countries.
• The COP28 UAE Declaration on Agriculture, Food, & Climate has received endorsements from 137 countries.
• The COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate and Health has been endorsed by 125 countries.
• The COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate Relief, Recovery & Peace has been endorsed by 74 countries and 40 organizations.
• The COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate Finance has been endorsed by 12 countries.
• The Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (Champ) Pledge has been endorsed by 64 countries.
• The Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter has been endorsed by 51 companies, representing 40 percent of global oil production.
• The Industrial Transition Accelerator has been endorsed by 35 companies and six industry associations, including World Steel Association, International Aluminium Institute, Global Renewable Alliance, Global Cement and Concrete Association, Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, International Air Transport Association.

Three additional declarations will be announced in the coming days on hydrogen, cooling, and gender. The number of countries supporting these declarations and pledges is growing and demonstrates an unprecedented level of inclusivity at this COP.

Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced three new proposals: Climate Justice Forum (CJF), Tropical Belt Initiative (TBI), and International Climate Change University in Sri Lanka.

However, the proposals are yet to get approval from the general UN body though the island nation’s authorities expect wide support for the moves.

“What we have done is to talk to countries about the initiatives and launch them. Next step is for them to be formally recognized by the main body,” Ruwan Wijewardena, the Senior Advisor to President Wickremesinghe on Climate change, told Economy Next.

Breakdown of financial pledges and contributions so far:

• Loss and Damage: $725 million
• Green Climate Fund: $3.5 billion (increasing second replenishment to $12.8 billion)
• Renewable Energy: $2.5 billion
• Technology: $568 million
• Methane: $1.2 billion
• Climate Finance: Over $30 billion from UAE (plus $200 million in Special Drawing Rights and an increase of $9 billion annually from the World Bank)
• Food: $2.6 Billion
• Nature: $2.6 Billion
• Health: $2.7 billion
• Water: $150 million
• Relief, Recovery and Peace: $1.2 billion
• Local Climate Action: $467 million (Dubai/Dec 6/2023)