The climate summit 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference 2023 or Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP28) highlights the need for a comprehensive assessment of the goals established by the Paris Agreement, with the aim of evaluating the progress made since COP21 and identifying essential corrections to deal with the climate crisis.
The focus of COP28 is the Global Stocktake (GST), a crucial assessment of the world's efforts towards carbon neutrality by 2050. The assessment process, which began in 2022, released its key findings in October 2023, with the report complete and subsequent discussions scheduled for COP28.
GST will not only assess progress but also identify gaps and opportunities to enhance existing initiatives. As countries prepare to submit their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) in 2025, the global stocktake findings have the potential to encourage more ambitious and targeted goals for the future.
However, analyzes such as the Energy Transition Outlook (ETO) indicate that the world still faces significant challenges. Current efforts are not aligned with the goals set out in the Paris Agreement, with projections suggesting a continued increase in carbon emissions. Despite the growth of low-carbon energy since 2015, global energy demand has expanded at an even faster pace.
To achieve decarbonization goals, projections indicate that carbon emissions must peak around 2027. None of the major countries are currently on track to meet emissions reduction targets by 2030. The implementation of technologies such as hydrogen Low-carbon energy and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) will play a crucial role in accelerating the energy transition.
Furthermore, it is essential to increase investments in clean energy infrastructure, expand financing mechanisms for emerging economies, and strengthen global cooperation between countries and major oil and gas companies. COP28 offers a crucial opportunity to drive more decisive and collaborative action towards a sustainable and resilient future. The Energy Transition Outlook provides a detailed view of the actions needed to achieve net-zero emissions targets by 2050 and drive a significant shift towards sustainability.
