Arab League meeting discusses facilitation of free trade zone

Jeddah - Yasmine El Tohamy - RIYADH: The ongoing UN Climate Change Conference has pledged over $83 billion for environmental-related efforts, including $792 million for a loss and damage fund to help developing countries suffering from the most extreme effects of global warming.

The overall total also includes a dedicated $568 million for the use of technology to ensure sustainability, while $129.3 million has been allocated toward the Least Developed Countries Fund.

COP28 has also allocated $134 million for an Adaptation Fund, while another $31 million has been assigned to a Special Climate Change Fund. 

The loss and damage fund was first announced during last year’s COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, but it was only a few weeks before the 2023 gathering in Dubai that affluent and developing nations managed agree on key points of the fund.

During this year’s COP28, 11 pledges and declarations were launched, including the first ever declarations on food systems transformation and health, plus statements on renewable energy and efficiency, as well as initiatives to decarbonize heavy emitting industries.

A press release from the event described the funding efforts as “setting the pace for a new era in climate action.”

The UAE also declared the launch of a $30 billion catalytic fund to drive positive climate action, while the World Bank revealed an increase of $9 billion annually for 2024 and 2025 to finance climate-related projects. 

Similarly, multilateral development banks announced a cumulative increase of $22.6 billion toward climate action. 

Moreover, some 130 countries backed the Global Renewables and Energy Efficiency Pledge, while 153 nations approved the COP28 UAE Declaration on Agriculture, Food, and Climate. 

Additionally, 141 countries endorsed the COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate and Health, and 66 countries supported the Global Cooling Pledge. 

The COP28 UAE Declaration on Hydrogen and Derivates has been approved by 37 countries, the statement added. 

During the event, the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter was backed by 52 companies, representing 40 percent of global oil production.

COP28, which began on Nov. 30, saw the inaugural involvement of oil and gas companies in the search for solutions to reduce emissions and ensure sustainability.

During the event’s opening day, Sultan Al-Jaber, president of the event, lauded the firms for participating in the climate summit.

“This is the presidency that made a bold choice to proactively engage oil and gas companies. We had many hard discussions. That was not easy. But today, many of these companies are committing zero methane emissions by 2030 for the first time. And now, many national oil companies have adopted net zero 2050 targets for the first time,” said Al-Jaber.

The ongoing summit, which will come to a close on Dec. 12, aims to ensure international cooperation and achieve the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement.

The Paris Agreement is an international treaty on climate change that was produced in 2015 and compels signatories to work toward limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

On Dec. 8, when the climate conference was midway, Al-Jaber called the ongoing UN summit in Dubai a potential game changer and said he was “optimistic” about the event’s outcome.