COP28, hosted by the UAE in Dubai from November 30 to December 12, 2023, holds three key expectations; creating a Loss and Damage Fund for climate disaster relief, concluding the Paris Agreement review, and addressing the fight against global warming

UAE will host the COP28 climate summit. The conference will be held at the expo city of Dubai from 30 November to 12 December, 2023.
Three things to look forward to for the upcoming summit includes;
number one, Cop27 in Egypt closed in November 2022 with an agreement to create a loss and damage fund, this fund goes to vulnerable countries affected by floods, droughts,rising seas and other climate disasters. A company was set up to see how the funding Arrangements will work, decisions on this loss and damage fund are expected to be made at Cop 28 in the UAE. Number two, the first review of the Paris agreement on climate change which began at Cop 26 in Glasgow in 2021 will conclude at cop 28. It is a process that evaluates the world’s progress towards achieving the goals of the agreement which was negotiated in Paris in December 2015, that is limiting global temperature increase to well below 2 degrees Celsius. Each two-year review takes place every five years and evaluates the global response to the climate emergency and number three, the summit in the UAE will also represent a landmark in the fight against global warming .In 2015 governments agreed to try to limit the average global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius but a report from U.N climate change shows the world is at risk of missing that limit. At cop27 governments were asked to revisit the 2030 Targets in their National climate plans countries will be expected to come to the table with stronger and more ambitious climate strategies than they did in 2022.

COP27 saw significant progress on adaptation, with governments agreeing on the way to move forward on the Global Goal on Adaptation, which will conclude at COP28 and inform the first Global Stocktake, improving resilience amongst the most vulnerable. The latest summit will also address climate change impact on agriculture and Global stocktake will address, mitigation(all the measures the world takes to check further rise in global warming), adaptation(all the efforts the world takes to cope up with the effects of global warming), means of implementation (it includes finance, technology transfer, capacity building, etc)
and creation of loss and damage fund.

Global stocktake is a five year exercise.It happened in three different phases and started in 2018.
Initial phase was data collection, here scientists were put up with the job to collect primary data, it went for 2 years. Second phase was technical assessment, in June 2023 in the city of Mon at Germany a discussion was held to pour over the collected data in the last few years. Third was, to make a synthesis report from the discussion over the data collected . This report will be the basic text on which COP28 will deliberate.

ISA is planning to perform a solar stocktake which will complement the global stocktake which is set to take place during COP28. “We are moving ahead on supporting COP Presidency in tripling of renewable energy goal and in doing solar stocktake which will complement the global stocktake which will occur at COP28. The Green Hydrogen Innovation Centre website (https://isa-ghic.org/) is already running. One training has already happened in Africa, at the same venue of the African Green Hydrogen Association meeting. We are also looking forward at new programmes such as Solar for She, which will look at renewable energy in women, our goal is that more women become entrepreneurs in the solar sector. We will update the Assembly about Global Solar Facility and SolarX Startup Challenge,” said Director General of International Solar Alliance, Ajay Mathur at the curtain raiser and press conference for the upcoming sixth session of the International Solar Alliance.

Speaking about the impact on agriculture the monsoon aspect in the context of climate change, a large part of the agriculture is driven by the water availability not just in the rainy season but in the winter season and after that.
“During the onset period, it is important to look at the distribution patterns of rains that is happening over the monsoon season. It involves how is the monsoon advancing towards various locations, what time it will reach at certain regions. Whether it is approaching during the seeding period or the germinating period, these factors becomes very crucial when it comes to monsoon and agriculture,” said Suruchi Bhadwal, Director, Earth science and Climate Change at The Energy and Resource institute(TERI)at ‘Climate talks’ event held within the framework of the Indo-German Green and sustainable Development partnership.

“speaking of the direct impacts of monsoon on agriculture, it involves rise in temperature, change in rainfall pattern, the problems with pests and diseases also persists, it is not just in regards to crops but also livestocks. The conducive environment of a moist and warm climate that allows for pathogens to propagate, which leads to these kinds of pests and diseases, this is slowly extending to humans as well,” she added.

To speak further on this she also mentioned core areas of research is emerging in IPCC focusing on impacts of climate change and spread of such diseases.

“Transition to monsoon is a critical point to understand in the context of climate change. According to climatology the transition to monsoon happen gradually. NCAR( National Center for Atmospheric Research)/NCEP(National Centers for Environmental Prediction) reanalysis displays abrupt transition of monsoon. Air temperature and relative humidity at 1000 Pa exhibit critical threshold at the monsoon transition, thus affecting agriculture and livestock,” emphasised Elena Surovyatkina from Postdam Institute for climate Impact Research (PIK) at ‘Climate talks’ event held within the framework of the Indo-German Green and sustainable Development partnership.

Furthermore, COP28 will address climate change impacts on agriculture, emphasising the critical role of water availability in agricultural practices. The distribution patterns of rainfall, temperature changes, and their effects on crops, livestock, and disease propagation will be key considerations.
In preparation for COP28, the International Solar Alliance (ISA) is taking proactive steps to complement the summit’s global stocktake by conducting a solar stocktake. ISA is committed to supporting the tripling of renewable energy goals and launching new programs such as “Solar for She” to empower women in the renewable energy sector. These initiatives reflect the global focus on transitioning to cleaner energy sources and expanding opportunities in the sector.
As the world looks to the COP28 summit in Dubai, expectations are high for significant decisions and actions that will propel the fight against climate change, advance sustainable agriculture, and further the transition to renewable energy sources. The summit will play a critical role in determining the global response to climate emergencies and fostering international cooperation for a more sustainable future.