The COP28 Presidency on December 3 enshrines a collective commitment to increase investment and actions to drive resilience in countries and communities affected by conflict, fragility or humanitarian crisis 

On the COP28 Presidency on December 3 formally unveiled endorsements of its COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate, Relief, Recovery and Peace (the Declaration), as part of its focus on accelerating global efforts to make fragile and conflicted-affected countries and communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

The Declaration, which has already been endorsed by 70 governments and 39 organisations, enshrines a collective commitment to increase investment and actions to drive resilience in countries and communities affected by conflict, fragility, or humanitarian crises.

Commenting on the Declaration, Ambassador Al Suwaidi, COP28 Director-General, said “Climate change impacts everybody but we are not all being affected equally. In fragile and conflict-affected settings, extreme weather events affect three times as many people annually compared to other countries. Despite this, people living in extremely fragile states receive a fraction – up to 80 times less – of climate finance compared to those in non-fragile states. The COP28 Presidency is committed to driving action and consensus to change this”.

On the same day, the ‘Getting Ahead of Disasters Charter’ (the Charter) was introduced. It outlined guidelines for group efforts to mitigate climate-related risks and safeguard vulnerable communities. Efforts to accelerate global resilience are being made at COP28, with the Declaration and Charter being just two of many measures.

The COP28 Presidency, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and the United Nations (UN) hosted presidents of countries in the Horn of Africa to introduce their regional climate security strategy. The COP28 Presidency partnered with the UN Secretary General to mobilise new support for ‘Early Warnings for All’, the initiative to cover 100 per cent of the globe with early warning systems by 2027.

Following this, the COP28 Presidency also designated December 3 as a day for ‘Health’ to draw attention to the need for communities to be protected from the effects of climate change.

As a result, the day also included the initial Climate and Health Ministerial, which brought together senior health delegates from more than 100 countries and took place during the COP. Support for the COP28 Climate and Health Agenda and the ‘COP28 Declaration on Climate and Health’, which were announced at the World Climate Action Summit on December 2, was galvanised by the ministerial. More than 120 nations supported it and partners mobilised over USD1 billion in funding for climate health initiatives.

“While we build the energy system of tomorrow, we cannot ignore the needs of people today. We must rapidly protect and promote their health and well-being while improving the climate-resilience of healthcare systems and reduce climate-health risks”, said Ambassador Al Suwaidi.

‘Protecting Lives and Livelihoods’ is one of four central pillars in the COP28 Presidency’s action agenda which focuses on people, nature, lives, and livelihoods.