COP28 starts next week. Its full name is enough to turn anyone off: the 28th Conference of Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
But as the year's biggest deal-making forum for climate issues, it matters.
The three things to know about COP are the negotiating blocs, their positions, and the issues. Here's your briefing.
Building blocs
Countries form negotiating blocs to boost leverage. In climate talks, the groups are often porous and overlapping. Some are formal and others are collectives of convenience. For example, the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG) is a mixed bag of Liechtenstein, Mexico, Monaco, South Korea, Switzerland and Georgia, that was patched together for a seat at group-only negotiating tables.
Key alliances
Majors
- Umbrella Group: mix of developed and developing economies including Australia, Canada and the US
- G77 + China: overall group of developing countries
- High Ambition Coalition: loose group of more than 90 countries with broad composition, which helped push through the Paris Agreement
Regional groups
- European Union
- Arab Group
- African Group
- Independent Alliance of Latin America and the Caribbean (AILAC)
Common interests
- Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) - Roughly 40 small island and low-lying coastal states
- Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) - Roughly 60 countries highly vulnerable to climate change
- Least Developed Countries (LDC) - Nearly 50 countries highly vulnerable to climate change while doing little to cause it
- Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) - 24 developing countries with more than 50% of the world’s population
Select countries
- BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India, China)
- ABU (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay)
An example of blocs in action is the push to mention equity in the Global Stocktake decision. More on that below.
Issue #1: Global Stocktake
The Global Stocktake is a big focus of COP28.
It's a check-in on everyone's promises and progress since the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit warming.
The Stocktake report was released in September (Vox described it as 'brutal') but COP28 will deliver a decision about what should happen next.
Major blocs of poorer countries want that decision to mention equity. I.e. recognise historical emissions and responsibility.
Here's how UK-based Carbon Brief has tracked the issue and positions held.
Negotiating positions on whether equity should be mentioned in the Global Stocktake decision:
Issue #2: Fossil fuels
As pressure builds to phase out fossil fuels, a nebulous alternative – to phase out 'unabated' fossil fuels – is rising.
Unabated means 'without any reduction in intensity'. So, phasing out unabated fossil fuels must mean … er … to gradually stop not reducing them.
Here's where we stand.
Phase out all fossil fuels:
Phase out unabated fossil fuels:
Note - the USA is opposed to phasing out unabated fossil fuels, but says it is prioritising phasing them down.
Issue #3: Loss and damage
At the last COP, members agreed to set up a loss and damage fund to help countries cope with climate disasters.
But the devil is in the details, and those haven't been agreed on.
Here are the sticking points and where Australia stands:
Should the loss and damage fund be linked to liability and compensation?
Should the loss and damage fund be hosted by the World Bank?
Should the loss and damage fund be sourced from grant-based public financing?
Australia's priorities
Australia's top priority is for private finance to help bankroll the disaster fund.
It also supports higher renewable energy targets.
Here's the list of issues and where we stand, according to the Carbon Brief tracker.