As the 28th annual Conference of the Parties (COP) of the The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change draws to a close, our experts reflect on some of the key outcomes.
At the recent COP28 in the United Arab Emirates, governments from around the world met to assess global efforts to address climate change.
The conference covered critical negotiations on loss and damage finance, a global goal on finance for developing countries, energy and the just transition, closing the emissions gap, and the first-ever Global Stocktake to assess progress toward the goals of the Paris Agreement.
The outcomes of COP28 (and all COPs) directly impact global efforts to address climate change and the success of our own efforts to prevent extinction worldwide. It’s also a valuable opportunity to highlight that the global biodiversity and climate crises are intrinsically linked, must be urgently tackled together, and that working together to protect our shared planet has never been more important.
Understanding the outcomes of a complex conference like COP28 can be challenging, so our experts have reflected on these and how they relate to our work at the zoo and worldwide.
Youth & Education
Sean Dick, the Schools Engagement Manager in our Conservation Education & Engagement team, was fortunate enough to attend COP28 in person.
“It was a privilege to be part of the Green Zone events and discussions at COP28. The opportunity to listen to inspiring speakers from across the world, hearing their stories about the impact climate change has on their everyday lives first-hand was something I will never forget.”
“It was really pleasing to see a focus on the importance of youth engagement and involving young people in the decision making process with the first focused day on Youth, Children, Education and Skills.”
With a passion for educating the next generation about conservation issues, Sean was particularly engaged with The Youth, Children, Skills and Education Day. This featured the first ever Youth Stocktake: a comprehensive overview of youth participation in climate discussions, designed to get more young people involved in the COP decision making process.
In total, 38 countries signed the Greening Education Partnership Declaration, committing to incorporate climate education into their Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaption Plans. The partnership is focused around four pillars: Greening Schools, Greening Learning, Greening Capacity, and Greening Communities.
We’re highly supportive of putting young people at the centre of climate diplomacy and decision making, and our Youth Board is already a well-established part of our governance structure.
It was fantastic that, during COP proceedings, our Youth Board’s involvement with the consultation process for the UK Government’s Department for Education’s Climate and Sustainability Strategy was hailed as an example of best practice in youth engagement.
Climate
One of the major successes of COP28 was the finalisation of the Global Stocktake – an assessment of countries’ progress towards the Paris Agreement targets and the actions needed to correct the course to meet them, but which showed the world is well off-track in securing a 1.5°C world. There were also many key pledges to help meet climate related targets, including a pledge to triple renewable energy and double energy efficiency by 2030, $700m pledged for the Loss and Damage Fund, and $186.6m pledged to protect and enhance nature to combat climate change.
Whilst valuable progress was made, it’s still not in line with the science, which requires greater urgency and ambition to limit global warming to 1.5°C. The disputes over a ‘phase out’ of fossil fuels and the ultimate compromise of a ‘transition away’ from fossil fuels, with worrying accompanying loopholes, demonstrate there is still work to do to achieve global consensus on climate action in line with the Paris Agreement.
Climate change is driving biodiversity loss and destroying our natural world. But there are still grounds for hope. The UN Global Climate Action has reported over 170 announcements made at COP28, more than double than at COP27 – reflecting the acceleration of collaboration that we’ve been calling for.
We’re committed to climate action. Through demonstrating best practice and using our voice to influence policy, we’ll continue to push for greater urgency and ambition in tackling climate change.
Jennifer Kelly, our Head of Sustainability, said:
“The world is falling short of the Paris Agreement targets – there is still, worryingly, no committed path to secure a 1.5°C world and the inevitable need to phase out fossil fuels – demonstrating there is still much more to be done.”
“The outcomes of COP28 lack the urgency and ambition needed to secure a liveable future for people and for nature and, as we currently stand, could condemn future generations to catastrophic effects of climate change. We must have hope but our window for change is closing fast. The time for action is now.”
Food and Agriculture
COP28 was the first COP with a day focused on food, and there is an urgent need to prioritise climate positive food, given that 30% of greenhouse gas emissions come from food production. A key outcome was 152 nations signing the Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action, which will integrate agriculture into climate plans and encourage stakeholders from across the food and farming industry to take positive collaborative action.
Chester Zoo has a strong voice in this area. Our ongoing work on sustainable palm oil, encompassing behaviour and industry policy change, has helped to influence new legislation in both Europe and the UK. We want to see faster and more effective transformational change and welcome the inclusion of a food production themed discussion at COP.
Catherine Barton, our Policy Lead for Deforestation-free Commodities and Regenerative Agriculture, said:
“Sustainable agriculture and food system transformations are critical components in the climate conversation. Agriculture and land use sectors are way behind others on climate action and are critical if we are to achieve climate goals.”
“These sectors have a lot of catching up to do, and I hope the signing of the Declaration has put food systems and agriculture firmly onto future COPs. Now is the time to take action on these commitments, move towards regenerative agriculture, and keep food on the climate agenda.”
Nature
And critical to our mission is how nature was covered at COP28. Positively, $186.6M was pledged to protect and restore nature as part of driving climate action, and the UK signed up to the Joint Statement on Climate, Nature, and People to bring together the twin goals of net zero and nature positivity to recover our planet. We at Chester Zoo have long argued that the climate and nature crises are inextricably linked and part of one global emergency, so we welcome the statement and commitment of funding as a good start, though much more is needed to tackle the scale of the crisis.
However, discussing nature over just one day of COP is not nearly enough, and we would like to see a greater understanding of the role nature can play in restoring ecosystems and contributing to climate action.
On Nature Day, we were thrilled that the UK government recognised our Networks for Nature project as a crucial example of harnessing private investment for nature-based solutions as one of the UK Government’s Projects for Nature; another fantastic example of Chester Zoo’s international reach.
Dr Simon Dowell, our Director of Conservation Science & Policy, said:
“Devoting just one day at COP28 to nature is not enough, the climate and nature crises are inextricably linked and part of one global emergency.”
“That said, we’re supportive of the Joint Statement on Climate, Nature, and People at COP28 to bring together the twin goals of net zero and nature positive and recover our planet.”
OUR TEAM OF EXPERTS WORK IN SIX REGIONS AROUND THE GLOBE – REPRESENTING SOME OF THE PLANET’S MOST BIODIVERSE HABITATS. Discover more about our SCIENCE AND CONSERVATION work.