Your Cop28 questions answered

For the last several days, The Independent’s Senior Climate Correspondent Louise Boyle has reported from Dubai on the biggest climate event of the year: Cop28.

The 28th annual Cop — or Conference of the Parties — took place in Dubai, UAE, over two weeks and came to an end on 13 December. Two-hundred countries and an estimated 70,000 attendees took part in the crucial summit on climate change.

For Ms Boyle, one of the best moments of the conference was spending the day with Marshall Islands’ climate envoy, Tina Stege, whose nation’s survival is on the line due to the climate crisis.

She also reported on the historic deal struck by delegates on 13 December — a day after the conference was set to end — following 24 hours of fraught negotiations. Major points in the deal include tripling renewable energy capacity worldwide by 2030 and transitioning away from fossil fuels in a “just, orderly and equitable manner” to achieve net zero by 2050, Ms Boyle reported.

As she watched the conference unfold, Ms Boyle hosted an Ask Me Anything on Reddit. In case you missed it, here are the top questions, and Ms Boyle’s replies:

There are incredible financial incentives to continue “business as usual” regarding fossil fuels extraction. Why isn’t Cop28 a waste of time?

One-hundred per cent – the fossil fuel industry made in excess of $200bn in profits last year — and they were helped along by $7 trillion in government subsidies.

But considering the political and financial clout of the fossil fuel industry at the national level, particularly when it comes to least developed and vulnerable places, do we not benefit from banding together to try to figure a path through it?

With record-breaking amount of private jets flying in to attend the conference do you feel the attendees know why they’re there?

The private jets – yep, gross. We know the one per cent of the one per cent are responsible for emissions far beyond much of the rest of the world. See the work Oxfam has done here.

Wealth inequality is one of the parts of the climate crisis that deserves much, much more attention. But, and this is far from a defence of billionaires, it’s easy to point in news articles at X person doing X thing. We need to focus on the systemic – why are we allowing private jets in the first place? Why are those who have the most taxed the least? I could go on...

Which country, do you think, is doing the most to combat climate change?

Great question. Some have already reached net-zero: Gabon, Bhutan and Panama, to name a few. Others have greater mountains to climb, as they were bigger emitters in the first place. Take a look at those in the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance – places like Denmark, Ireland, and several other European countries – who are making strides.

This year marks the first ‘global stocktake’ – the first time countries are taking an accounting of where they are at in reducing emissions, a requirement of the Paris Agreement. Let’s see where that ends up. It’s one thing to talk a big game, but the proof will be in the numbers.

Overall, though, we know that emissions are still rising. Moving away from countries, we should look at the private sector, particularly the large oil companies, to see just how real their emissions reduction plans are. Accountability and reporting are going to be the watchwords of the next six years, especially if we are going to hit the goal of cutting emissions by around 40 per cent.

Did you find any of the participants to be cynical about prospects for solving climate change, given the comments by the host and the location of the conference?

Its true, the UAE have said some problematic things, and it’s hard to be in a place like Dubai and not see an entire city built on oil wealth. Then again, two years ago we were in Glasgow (my hometown!) and that’s also a city (along with the UK at large) that has historically built its wealth on fossil fuels. The developed world as a whole has to take responsibility for our emissions – it’s just the right thing to do.

But the UAE have also shepherded through an agreement here on fossil fuels for the first time, that’s no small achievement. Maybe it took an oil country to do so? I can’t speak to everyone but I spent time with the Marshall Islands delegation earlier this week, and they would be a place that had every right to be cynical, considering how much damage they are facing, and how little they have done to cause it. But no one came across as cynical to me – they just were working hard to make sure they do the best for everyone in their country, and hoping that others are in good faith when they say they will act.

Let’s hope they follow through in doing so.

Questions and answers have been edited for grammar and style.