Dubai summit awaits implementation of promises

COP28 climate summit will kick off in Dubai within days amid a critical atmosphere in the Middle East and wars in Gaza and Ukraine. If nature is crying out for help and declaring its rebellion against humans’ treatment of it, then humans are also waging brutal wars that destroy green and dry land... a threat to humanity from nature, from wars, and from interests. In the midst of all this atmosphere, the Cop 28 Climate Summit comes to discuss how to calm nature, and I wish we could also discuss how to calm humans. 

Last year, the summit was held in Sharm El-Sheikh, and its most important results were tangible progress in the climate adaptation file by launching the Sharm El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda, its implementation depends strongly on partnerships between the public and private sectors. The launch of the Loss and Damage Fund represents a success for the diplomacy of the Egyptian chairmanship of the conference and for all parties negotiating climate action, and deserved to be described by Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, as a great diplomatic success.

President Sisi stressed at the conclusion of the previous summit, while rebuking the major powers in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron, that “leadership is a responsibility,” in a clear sign to  the major powers to bear responsibility for climate change that result from the huge factories, aircraft carriers, and the fires and wars they ignite, while the price is paid by innocent people in the Third World. On the other hand, the major countries, especially the US, don't fulfill their promise, , as the US has deflect the responsibility and refused to pay the price for the damage it causes and does not fulfill its promises to address the effects of climate change, including paying the amount of 100 billion dollars annually that the developed countries committed to at the Copenhagen conference in 2009, in addition to about a trillion dollars until the year 2025, and 2.4 trillion dollars until 2030. Financing climate action requires activating mechanisms for reducing debt and  investmenting in nature and climate, and activating carbon markets, while the development banks and financing institutions should adopt easy standards.

The major countries are required to fulfill their promises and prove their cooperation by paying their share of the $100 billion that they have committed to for addressing the effects of climate change, and by stopping the war and putting an end to all the crimes committed with the latest lethal weapons and white phosphorus that the US sends for use in Gaza, the US exploits the right of veto to prevent the brutal war.