Faced with the avalanche of problems created by climate change, countries participating in conferences on the climate usually don't dare to broach certain subjects. The 28th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai was no exception to the rule. The issue of fossil fuels overshadowed adapting to climate change, in other words, the means put in place to prepare countries for current climate issues.
The Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) was nevertheless worked on. But it has caused a great deal of disappointment, particularly in African, Caribbean and Latin American countries. "They were waiting for details on financing, targets and technology transfer," said Emilie Beauchamps of the International Institute for Sustainable Development. "But the language used in the GGA is very weak, not precise enough, and does not allow long-term monitoring of the commitments made by rich countries. Adaptation is fundamental: The more it is left aside, the more loss and damage we have – it's a vicious circle."
At the start of COP28, the GGA was initially overshadowed by the adoption of the new "loss and damage" fund. The West and the United Arab Emirates immediately announced funding for this new tool designed to compensate for disaster damage or irreversible losses linked to climate change ($655 million in all). Many parties were hoping to set aside the subject of climate finance to focus on the issue of fossil fuels.
COP27 had already set aside the crucial issue of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Lola Vallejo, director of the climate program at the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations, said: "As loss and damage has become a third pillar of climate action, adaptation may have taken a back seat, even though there is still a lot of work to be done, even conceptually, to properly define what it covers. Everyone came with two themes in mind, loss and damage and getting off fossil fuels, and the third big topic got much less light."
Funding pledges from developed countries for adaptation were deemed far too low (Germany was the most generous with $65.7 million, France put $10.9 million on the table, Sweden and Spain $22 million, the United States $17.5 million). They're minor sums compared to what is needed. According to calculations by experts from the United Nations Environment Programme, summarized in the "Adaptation Gap Report" published on November 2, societies in developing countries will need to mobilize between $215 billion and $387 billion a year over the next decade to adapt to climate change.
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