Prepare for heated debate as the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP28, kicks off. This year’s summit, Nigel Purvis writes, “could prove the most contentious round of climate talks in almost a decade.” The conference sparked controversy even before it began: Its host country—the United Arab Emirates—is a major oil producer. And in the lead-up to the summit, new reports showed that the earth is set to breach 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming sooner than expected.
COP28 is expected to be a pivotal moment for the international community as countries hash out, among other issues, the future of climate finance and the details of wealthy countries’ commitments to provide climate funding to the global south. The essays below offer essential context to understanding the talks, and, altogether, provide a guide to the summit.
The foggy skyline of Dubai at sunrise on Dec. 5, 2016.Rustam Azmi/Getty Images
Why COP28 Could Be the Most Contentious in Years
Prepare for the first real global debate on the future of fossil fuels, Nigel Purvis writes.
A worker walks past the logo of COP28 in the United Arab Emirates in Dubai on Nov. 27. Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Global North Is Alienating the Global South Before COP28 Even Starts
Dismissing the summit because its host is an oil producer is hypocritical and dangerous, Manal Shehabi writes.
Wind turbines are seen in the San Gorgonio Pass area near Palm Springs, California, on April 22, 2016.David McNew/AFP via Getty Images
What an Emerging Narrative About Renewables Gets Wrong
The green transition will mean less mining, not more, Jeff Opperman writes.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then chief minister of the western state of Gujarat, poses at the inauguration of a solar farm in the village of Gunthawada, Banaskantha district, India, on Oct. 14, 2011. SAM PANTHAKY/AFP via Getty Images
India Isn’t Interested in the West’s Climate Money
Shayak Sengupta and Abhinav Jindal explain why the Indian government isn’t signing on to a climate finance deal designed to go global.
Smoke billows from a large steel plant in Inner Mongolia, China, on Nov. 4, 2016. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
Will the World’s Biggest Emitters Finally Play Nice at COP28?
It’s time to stop fighting totemic battles that suck the energy out of the climate room, FP’s Ravi Agrawal writes.