United Arab Emirates announces COP28 Climate Summit to be held in Dubai Expo City
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has announced that Dubai Expo City will host the COP28 Climate Summit.
The conference is expected to be attended by more than 45,000 people per day, bringing together government officials, international industry leaders, private sector representatives, civil society, academics, climate experts and heads of state.
The success of Expo 2020, visited by more than 24 million people during the six months it lasted and a focal point for the shift towards sustainability and the international promotion of actions to improve the climate situation, objectives shared with the Climate Summit, had a lot to do with the choice of the venue.
Just a few days ago, Sheikh Mohammed bis Rashid, Vice-President of the UAE and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, announced that what was Expo 2020 would become a city in October 2022: Dubai Expo City.
He expressed the spirit and values he wanted to maintain and grow it: "It will be an environmentally friendly city, a family-friendly city, an economy-friendly city and a city for future generations. A city connected with a port and two airports, but also with beautiful memories in the hearts and minds of millions of people", which was endorsed after the announcement of COP28.
The UAE has been developing a multitude of actions against climate change that place it at the forefront of cutting-edge and innovative measures to protect the environment. It is the host and permanent member of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), it was the first country in the region to commit to significant emissions reductions, and it was also a pioneer in signing and ratifying the Paris Agreement.
Another strength of the UAE's environmental policy is renewable energy; it operates three of the world's largest solar plants and has invested in 70 countries around the world. Investments that include loans and grants of more than $1 billion to 27 island countries that are resource-constrained and highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change.
Over the past 15 years, the UAE has become a leader, both nationally and regionally, in clean and renewable energy investments. It has already committed more than $50 billion and recently announced its intentions to double this amount over the next ten years in complementary projects.
These examples demonstrate once again the commitment and active struggle of the Emirates to grow economically in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way, as well as their intention to collaborate with the most disadvantaged countries to reduce the possible effects that climate change may have on them.
Egypt will host COP27, to be held in November this year, and the UAE is committed to working hand in hand with Egypt to ensure that the measures and approaches taken at both conferences are implemented and become a reality that favours the environment.
The United Nations Climate Change Conventions were launched in 1992 in Brazil. These conferences have been held annually since 1995 and aim to find solutions to reduce the impacts of climate change. It was at COP26 in Glasgow that the United Arab Emirates was chosen to host COP28 in November 2023.
