Dubai | The UAE, which holds the COP28 presidency, and the UNFCCC have signed the Host Country Agreement, strengthening their joint commitment to inclusivity and transparency at the summit to foster solidarity and transformative progress across the climate agenda.
The Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will host the 28th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP 28), with a view to building on previous successes and paving the way for future ambition to effectively tackle the global challenge of climate change.
The Host Country Agreement, signed by COP28 President-Designate Dr Sultan Al Jaber and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary Simon Stiell during a meeting in Abu Dhabi, puts in place the necessary legal basis for this year's UN Climate Summit, said the joint statement issued on the occasion.
The statement also said the COP-28 would focus on four areas -- full inclusivity of the COP process, fast-tracking the energy transition, fixing climate finance, and focusing on lives and livelihoods.
“The COP28 Presidency believes inclusivity is a critical enabler to achieving transformative progress across the climate agenda. Only by rising above our differences and working together can we raise our shared ambition and deliver progress to keep 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach,” Dr. Al Jaber said emphasising that inclusion was a crucial cornerstone of the COP28 Presidency.
Stiell reaffirmed the UNFCCC's dedication to upholding UN values at COPs and ensuring the voices of those most impacted by climate change were heard and represented in leadership roles.
“To drive climate action and ambition forward, we are firmly committed to ensuring that UN values are upheld at COPs. We are also making every effort on our part to ensure that this will be a COP process where the voices of youth, women, local communities, Indigenous Peoples, and those most impacted by climate change will be heard and reflected within the process,” he said.
In line with UNFCCC guidelines and adherence to international human rights norms and principles, there will be space available for climate activists to assemble peacefully and make their voices heard, the statement added.
“We will work together to make COP28 the most inclusive UN Climate Change Conference to date. To this effect, we have written to all parties urging increased participation and meaningful engagement of youth, women, local communities, and indigenous peoples as members of party and observer delegations to COP, and in climate decision-making, policy, and action in the lead-up to and during COP 28 by providing appropriate quality and modalities of participation,” the statement said.
