COP28 – What are the key issues for businesses?

Today marks the opening day of COP28, the United Nations Climate Change conference, bringing the international community together to help mitigate and improve climate change impacts.

Hosted this year in Dubai, the summit takes place at an important crossroads – the halfway point towards achieving targets set in the COP21 Paris Agreement. Importantly, it will focus discussion of what progress has been made with national climate plans and accelerate action towards the targets set. 

So, what are some of the key issues that will be discussed? The thematic programme is wide-ranging and designed to engage a diverse mix of stakeholders; from governments and member states of the UNFCCC, to industry leaders, youth activists, representatives of indigenous communities and other stakeholders.

In Paris, the global community agreed to pursue a 1.5 degrees Celsius limit on global average temperature rises, yet the UN’s projections are that we are on track for an increase of 2.5-2.9 degrees Celsius – in fact, we’re already at 1.4 degrees Celsius. Carbon emissions need to reduce by 42% by 2030, and yet rose by 1.2% in 2022 – given that backdrop, there is much for climate negotiators to achieve. 

From a business perspective, some of the key issues that will be followed with interest are: trade, finance, gender equality, biodiversity and youth, education and skills. Our ESG experts explored these themes, as part of a new video series ahead of COP28, to share their views on the headline areas we expect to be discussed, the outcomes from COP27 and the key things clients should consider as they reflect on developments at this year’s summit.

On the subject of nature and biodiversity, we highlight three things it will be important for businesses to consider for the future. Firstly, assessing an organisation’s impact on nature, which may require getting specialist input and support; secondly, bringing that insight into its ESG strategies and developing a nature plan; and finally investing time in reporting and disclosure, which needs to be both accessible and meaningful.

Another significant outcome from last year’s summit was the creation of the Sharm el-Sheik Implementation Plan, which carved out a loss and damage fund to support countries vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The detail of the fund and how it will work will undoubtedly be a key discussion point at COP28 and nations, communities and businesses will be keen to find out more. It’s an area of development our ESG team will be following closely during the summit, alongside many others.

To keep informed of highlights from COP28 and the issues most relevant to our clients, look out for our upcoming blog posts or join our ThinkHouse Foundations webinar on 7 December – hear from a panel of international environmental law experts who will discuss the aims of this year’s summit, expectations around what may result and how key developments might impact businesses.