In Focus: The 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference

Climate change is real, and the world is facing multiple climate crises, including heat waves, droughts, wildfires, rising sea levels, flooding, winter storms, and biodiversity loss. It is also true that human activities are the main cause of climate change. Since the Industrial Revolution, greenhouse gas concentrations have been increasing steadily, with the average global temperature keeping rising.

In March 2023, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded in its latest comprehensive report of the Sixth Assessment Report Climate Change 2023, that the actions we take over the next seven years will determine the likelihood of human survival on Earth. It is urgent to limit the global warming to less than 1.5°C. Why are humans so alarmed when global temperature rises by 1.5°C? Dr. ZHOU Jinfeng, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, analyzes that rising sea levels caused by global warming will submerge coastal lowlands, which is only one of the many impacts caused by climate change. The real cause of the previous five mass extinctions is that climate change has led to changes in the environment and nature. Rapid environmental change leads to extinction of organisms that have no time to adjust to adaptation. Currently, the global average temperature in 2022 is approximately 1.15 [1.02 to 1.27] °C higher than the pre-industrial (1850-1900) level. The window of opportunity is closing, and accelerated climate action or measures are becoming increasingly urgent and important.

As an annual conference that gathers global climate action, the United Nations Climate Change Conference is the largest and most important climate conference in the world. The successive achievements of global results based on consultations at the conference, such as the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, the Paris Agreement in 2015 and the “Loss and Damage” Fund in 2022, have provided framework guidance and scientific strategies for the global joint response to climate change. From November 30 to December 12 of 2023, the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference will be held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, which is a major oil and gas country. What results will be achieved or adopted during the conference is once again the focus of attention, such as emissions reduction and energy transition. Representatives from China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation will participate in the meeting.

This month’s journal focuses on a series of topics on the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, and hopes to discuss with our readers the global concerns and the correct path in the context of intensifying climate change.