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Sophie McGonigle

COP28 Day 2 Takeaways


The 2nd day of COP kicked off with the commencement of the World Climate Action Summit (WCAS), scheduled between Dec 1-2. The summit gathered Heads of State and Government under one roof.


There were calls from leaders for stronger ambition, but we await to see these asks turning to action over the next weeks, especially for the upcoming year that holds the cycle of electoral politics.


UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for the Global Stocktake (GST) to spur drastic emissions cuts, end fossil fuel use, and accelerate a just, equitable transition. He also underscored the GST should support multilateral development bank reform and show how developed countries will double adaptation finance.


King Charles III, UK, called for combining public and private finance with innovative tools like risk guarantees and ensuring that resources flow to the most sustainable solutions. He advised forging an ambitious 100-year vision built on diversity and coherent long-term solutions.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India, said India is one of the few countries on track to meet its nationally determined contribution (NDC) targets.


There were several new financial pledges for loss and damage, notably Italy and France pledging up to EUR 100 million each, and CAD 16 million from Canada. The Netherlands also announced contributions of EUR 15 million for the loss and damage fund and EUR 25 million to enhance African LDCs’ disaster response capacity.


The President of the UAE, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also announced the establishment of a USD 30 billion fund for climate solutions to stimulate clean energy investments by 2030.


Over 134 countries endorsed the UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action. The list includes some of the major agricultural emitters, such as Brazil, China, the EU, and the US. The Declaration could extend to more than just words, as several follow-up workshops on the Declaration’s implementation will be held at this meeting.


In the negotiations, finance and Global Stocktake (GST) discussions convened throughout the day, alongside a range of other consultations. There were several discrepancies waiting to be resolved in the following days from the informal consultations/negotiations on the best way forward for the Sharm el-Sheikh Mitigation Ambition and Implementation Work Programme.


The work programme on Just Transition Pathways faced similar diverging views, on whether the work programme should address just transition pathways, or if there are multiple just transitions to consider. While some stressed the importance of national-level or nationally-determined actions, others called for considering international aspects.

However, all parties across negotiations through the day agreed on one thing: not to replicate what one called “the mistakes” of the GST, namely, having a lengthy technical process that is largely disconnected from a short political process.


References: IISD ENB

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