COP28: $83 billion mobilised in pledges and commitments in the first 5 days

Mehedi Al Amin from Dubai, UAE

COP28 mobilises over $83 billion in the first five days of the 12 says summit starting from November 30 to support priorities across the global climate agenda, setting the pace for a new era in climate action, according to a press note of COP28 presidency.

The average mobilized amount was stood at $16.6 billion a day. The conference had mobilized $57 billion in the first four days with $14.25 average. However, it is a significant rise of commitment with $26 billion on the fifth day, almost double of the first four day’s average.

M Zakir Hossain Khan, Chief Executive of Change Initiative told The Report, “It sounds good but have some questions. Is the money a grand which was supposed to be, or the money will come as a form of loan? Is the allocation made in the basis of country specific needs, specially who are the most vulnerable?”

“If it is a loan with unclear funding announcements, then who will be the beneficiaries of this money and who will caught in another debt trap, and who will cash the investment (Developed countries and the multilateral financial organizations or the needy communities) is the question,” opined Zakir Hossain.

“As far we do not have a definition of climate finance, we can’t be happy with this announcement rather we have many issues to be worried about,” said the prominent climate finance expert.

The biggest amount came for renewable energy, and it is $5 billion. The second highest amount came to Green Climate Fund, and it is $3.5 billion. And the third highest announcement is $3.1 for food.

The COP presidency also published 11 pledges and declaration. The full breakdown of pledges and declarations so far is as follows:

Breakdown of money

1. Loss and Damage: $726 million
2. Green Climate Fund: $3.5 billion (increasing second replenishment to $12.8 billion)
3. Adaptation Fund: $133.6 million
4. Least Developed Countries Fund: $129.3 million
5. Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF): $31 million
6. Renewable Energy: $5 billion
7. Cooling: $25.5 million
8. Clean Cooking: $30 million
9. Technology: $568 million
10. Methane: $1.2 billion
11. Climate Finance: $30 billion from UAE, $200 million in Special Drawing Rights and $32 billion from Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs)
12. Food: $3.1 billion
13. Nature: $2.6 billion
14. Health: $2.7 billion
15. Water: $150 million
16. Gender: $2.8 million
17. Relief, Recovery and Peace: $1.2 billion
18. Local Climate Action: $467 million

The COP28 published breakdown of pledges and declarations so far.

• The Global Renewables and Energy Efficiency Pledge has been endorsed by 123 countries.
• The COP28 UAE Declaration on Agriculture, Food, & Climate has received endorsements from 140 countries.
• The COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate and Health has been endorsed by 132 countries.
• The COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate Relief, Recovery & Peace has been endorsed by 75 countries and 40 organizations.
• The COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate Finance has been endorsed by 13countries.
• The Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP) Pledge has been endorsed by 65 countries.
• The Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter has been endorsed by 52 companies, representing 40 percent of global oil production.
• The Industrial Transition Accelerator has been endorsed by 35 companies and six industry associations, including World Steel Association, International Aluminium Institute, Global Renewable Alliance, Global Cement and Concrete Association, Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, International Air Transport Association has been endorsed by 123 countries.