On Saturday, India and UAE released a Joint Statement on Climate Change. Speaking on the occasion, PM Narendra Modi congratulated the UAE as the selected host country of COP28 in 2023 and extends his full support to the UAE’s COP28 Incoming Presidency.
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in turn, congratulated India for its leadership role in the G20.
In this context, both leaders highlighted the importance of the global stocktake (GST) and its successful conclusion at COP28, an ambitious exercise designed to take stock of global collective action to achieve the objectives of the Conventions and the goals of the Paris Agreement.
What is the Global Stocktake (GST)?
The Global Stocktake (GST) is a critical process established under the Paris Agreement, aimed at assessing global progress towards achieving the agreement’s goals.
The GST provides an opportunity for nations to collectively review their efforts, identify gaps, and strengthen climate action.
It is a comprehensive assessment of collective efforts made by countries to combat climate change.
It is designed to review the implementation of the Paris Agreement and measure progress towards its long-term goals.
The stocktake involves an analysis of mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology transfer, and capacity-building efforts to identify trends, successes, challenges, and areas that require improvement.
Key Objectives of the Global Stocktake:
- Assessing collective progress: The GST aims to evaluate global efforts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting adaptation measures, and achieving climate-related targets. It provides a comprehensive overview of how countries are working together to combat climate change and limit global temperature rise.
- Identifying gaps and opportunities: The stocktake examines the gap between current actions and the required efforts to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. It helps identify areas where greater action is needed and provides opportunities for collaboration, technology transfer, and capacity-building to bridge these gaps.
- Enhancing transparency and accountability: Through the GST, countries are held accountable for their commitments and are encouraged to provide transparent and accurate data on their climate actions. This fosters trust and promotes a culture of accountability, enabling effective monitoring of progress and encouraging countries to raise their ambitions.
- Guiding future climate strategies: The stocktake process informs the formulation of national climate strategies, enabling countries to update and enhance their climate targets, policies, and actions. It helps identify best practices and innovative approaches, allowing nations to learn from each other and make informed decisions for accelerated climate action.
GST at COP28 Dubai 2023
COP28 in Dubai 2023 will be a milestone event where the GST will play a pivotal role.
The stocktake will provide a comprehensive assessment of the progress made since the Paris Agreement’s inception and set the stage for future climate action. Here are key highlights expected from the GST at COP28:
- Comprehensive review: The GST will conduct a thorough review of the implementation of the Paris Agreement, assessing collective efforts in mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology transfer, and capacity-building. This evaluation will shed light on the effectiveness of existing strategies and help shape future actions.
- Raising ambition: The stocktake process aims to enhance countries’ climate ambitions by highlighting the urgency of the climate crisis and emphasizing the need for accelerated action. It will provide a platform for countries to showcase their achievements and encourage them to set more ambitious targets for reducing emissions and promoting sustainable development.
- Bridging the finance gap: The GST will scrutinize financial flows and assess progress in mobilizing climate finance. It will help identify gaps in funding and explore innovative mechanisms to bridge the finance gap, ensuring adequate resources for climate action in developing countries.
- Advancing technology transfer: The stocktake will evaluate the progress made in technology development and transfer to support climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. It will promote collaboration among nations, foster research and development, and encourage the deployment of sustainable technologies across sectors.
In this regard, India-UAE Joint Statement on Climate Change urgently calls upon the international community to expedite efforts in order to preserve the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement through the fulfilment of nationally determined contributions and the display of solidarity and support.
While firmly upholding the principles and provisions outlined in the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, including the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, considering the diverse national circumstances of each nation.
Both India and UAE underscore the imperative of achieving ambitious, balanced, and implementation-oriented outcomes at COP28 across all the important pillars of global climate action namely-
- Mitigation
- Adaptation
- Loss and damage
- Means of implementation including climate finance.
Lastly, the statement called upon all Parties to engage constructively and demonstrate solidarity in the pursuit of these outcomes.