THREE HOST COUNTRIES of the world’s largest climate conference have banded together to form a ‘troika’ to push the world to keep temperature rise to within 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan and Brazil – the hosts of COP28, COP29 and COP30 respectively – have said they will collectively push to “enhance international cooperation” on combatting global warming and limiting temperature rise to livable levels.
The COPs are United Nations-led conferences that bring countries together in a rotating host nation each year to develop new climate action commitments.
At COP21 in 2015, countries signed up to the Paris Agreement, promising to try to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and, at the least, no more than two degrees.
However, current estimates indicate that the world is on course to warm between 2.5 and 2.9 degrees Celsius during this century and the 1.5 limit will likely be reached between 2030 and 2035.
An agreement signed at COP28 in Dubai mandated the three countries to work together on a plan to revive the 1.5 degree target.
The agreement reached in December said the partnership should “significantly enhance international cooperation and the international enabling environment to stimulate ambition in the next round of nationally determined contributions” with a view to “scaling up action and implementation during this critical decade and keeping the 1.5°C limit within reach”.
In a statement, COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber said that “the Troika helps ensure we have the collaboration and continuity required to keep the North Star of 1.5°C in sight — from Baku to Belem and beyond”.
The climate crisis poses a growing threat to lives and livelihoods around the world.
Human activities are releasing excessive volumes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that act in a ‘greenhouse effect’ to allow more heat to travel to earth’s surface but block much of it from escaping back out, causing global average temperatures to rise and unsettling natural climate patterns.
Reducing emissions, especially by cutting fossil fuel use, is essential to fighting the climate crisis.
Azerbaijan is set to host COP29 later this year, followed by COP30 in Brazil next year.
The UAE and Azerbaijan presidencies have both been subject to criticism for the appointment of lead negotiators with ties to the fossil fuel industry.
Azerbaijan’s election as host country also came in the wake of conflict with Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Additionally, the Azerbaijan COP29 presidency initially announced an organising committee that was composed of 28 men and zero women. It later announced an extended list that added 12 women and one more man after international backlist.
Additional reporting by AFP
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