UAE maintaining Cop28 momentum with ‘Troika’ partnership 

Beata Zawrzel via Reuters Connect

• Troika of UAE, Azerbaijan and Brazil
• Chasing 1.5C warming target
• Aim of ‘solidarity and unity’

Cop28 host the UAE has reached an agreement with future hosts Azerbaijan and Brazil to make sure the momentum achieved at the event in Dubai continues throughout the next two climate summits.

The Cop Presidencies Troika (group of three) was launched at Dubai’s Expo City with the aim of sticking to the 1.5C maximum global warming target set by the 2015 Paris Agreement.

“The Troika helps ensure we have the collaboration and continuity required to keep the North Star of 1.5 degrees in sight – from Baku to Belem,” said Cop28 president Dr Sultan Al Jaber.

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Among the deals struck during December’s annual climate meet were an 11th-hour commitment from nations to transition away from fossil fuels, as well as a goal to treble global renewable energy capacity and end deforestation by 2030.

One of the first big wins of the event was to set up a loss and damage fund to help vulnerable countries recover from damage caused by climate change.

“The breakthroughs we all achieved at Cop28 must carry forward to Cop29 and 30 – in ambitious nationally determined contributions, climate finance follow through, and accelerated implementation,” said Al Jaber.

Cop29, in Baku, Azerbaijan, later this year is expected to agree on a new collective quantified goal on climate finance to respond to the needs and priorities of developing countries.

The Brazilian iteration of the conference the following year will focus on the 2025 round of  nationally determined contributions – national plans to reduce emissions and adapt to climate impacts – to ensure countries’ individual commitments deliver climate action.

“Polarisation and pointing fingers do not drive progress,” Al Jaber said. “Solidarity and unity do. That is the lesson of Cop28.”