KEY POINTS

  • CoP28 will be attended by 140 heads of state and 80,000 participants around the world
  • It will center on the progress made since the pledge made by global leaders during the Paris Agreement of 2015
  • This year's CoP27 was held in Egypt

The 28th Conference of Parties (CoP28), otherwise known as the 2023 Global Climate Summit, is shaping up to be the biggest UAE event next year, said Dubai Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid. The annual event, which will be held at Expo City Dubai in 2023, will be attended by 140 heads of state and 80,000 participants.

"The UAE's hosting of CoP28 will be the most prominent event for the country in 2023," said Sheikh Mohammed during a government meeting of senior officials Tuesday.

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, special envoy for climate change and chairman of Masdar, outlined during the meeting what participants could expect as the UAE hosts next year's global event. He also touted the UAE's achievements in the area of environmental sustainability, including the UAE's founding father's move to stop gas flaring in the 1970s.

"The late Sheikh Zayed (bin Sultan Al Nahyan) laid the foundations of environmental sustainability and climate action that we have built on in the past decades," he said. "Today, we have a proven track record of reducing emissions, accelerating the growth of renewable energy and enabling the energy transition."

Sheikh Zayed added that the hosting of the Global Climate Summit would be "a global political, economic, scientific and social platform to achieve commitments" to curb the impact of climate change through negotiations. He also said the summit would be a great opportunity to assess the progress made by global leaders in their reducing the effects of global warming.

This year's CoP27 was held at the green city of Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt and featured visits by world leaders, proposals by business leaders, and negotiations among nearly 200 nations about the future of global action on climate change.

Ahead of the CoP28, the UAE has formed a higher committee to oversee the preparations for next year's summit, led by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The summit will center on the progress made since countries pledged to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels during the 2015 Paris Agreement.

COP27 climate summit, in Egypt
Reuters