COP28 president unveils ‘Troika Vision’ to ensure countries deliver climate action

RIYADH: President of COP28 Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber has unveiled a joint vision involving the leaders of three climate change conferences as he called for energy transition pathways to be “just, orderly and responsible.” 

The first-of-its-kind Presidencies’ Troika was agreed upon during the 2023 summit in the UAE, and aims to enhance the continuity of pursuing environmental ambitions between COP28, COP29 in Azerbaijan and COP30 in Brazil.

The vision from the trio will boost climate plans to achieve the goals outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement, which compels signatories to work toward limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5 Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

According to the final agreement reached at COP28, the Troika partnership is also expected to significantly enhance international cooperation, ultimately resulting in the scale-up of actions and implementation of various measures to reach climate goals. 

Al-Jaber made the comments during the opening session of the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial on March 21, in the presence of COP29 President-Designate Mukhtar Babayev, and Andre Correa do Lago, secretary for climate, energy and environment for COP30 host Brazil.

He added: “The UAE Consensus was a victory for multilateralism and proof of the power of inclusivity. It showed that positivity and solidarity can overcome pessimism and polarization. Countries set aside self-interest for the common good and united around the common goal of keeping 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach.” 

The president highlighted the role the COP Presidencies Troika will play in driving ambition in the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions. 

“Parties must do the work now to ensure that their NDCs meet the urgency of the moment — and are submitted at least nine months before COP30,” he said. 

He added that NDCs should be economy-wide and cover all greenhouse gases, including methane, and that countries should put policies in place to deliver emission reductions of 60 percent compared to 2019 levels before 2035.

“At COP28 collectively, we changed the mindset that views climate action as a burden to one that sees it as an opportunity to stimulate new industries, leverage new technologies, including the transformative power of AI, create new jobs and drive sustainable growth,” he added. 

Al-Jaber, who is also the minister of industry and advanced technology of the UAE, said that finance is the key enabler of all eco-related progress in the Global South. 

He also underscored the necessity of ensuring the availability of environmental finance in an accessible and affordable manner. 

“COP28 advanced the conversation around a comprehensive redesign of the international financial system to align finance flows with climate goals. We now need to move from conversation to implementation. Climate finance must be made more available, accessible and affordable at every level,” concluded Al-Jaber. 

At COP28, parties agreed to “transition away” from fossil fuels, but there was no progress on unblocking financial flows to developing countries. 

Moreover, last year’s climate summit also witnessed an agreement to operationalize a fund for loss and damage, which reached $792 million in commitments by the end of the conference.

Another significant development during COP28 was the launch of the Emirates Framework for Global Climate Resilience, which aims to reduce vulnerability in key targets including food, water, health and nature by 2030 in order to achieve sustainable development and international collaboration.