2023 UN Climate Change Conference, COP28 opens today

UN climate conferences are government-level, large-scale annual gatherings focused on climate action. They are also referred to as ‘COP’ – Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 

COP28, from 30 November to 12 December in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, will host world leaders to measure progress and chart an ambitious way forward in the global fight against climate change. Over 60,000 people are expected to attend COP28, including delegates from member states of the UNFCCC, industry leaders, youth activists, representatives of indigenous communities, journalists, and other stakeholders. 

The UNFCCC entered into force on 21 March 1994 to prevent “dangerous” human interference with the climate system. Today, ratified by 198 countries, it has near-universal membership. The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, works as an extension of the UNFCCC.

Climate change is primarily a water crisis. We feel its impacts through worsening floods, rising sea levels, shrinking ice fields, wildfires and droughts. According to the State of Global Water Resources Report launched earlier this autumn, the hydrological cycle is spinning out of balance as a result of climate change and human activities. Droughts and extreme rainfall events are having a heavy impact on lives and economies. Melting snow, ice and glaciers have increased hazards like floods and threaten long-term water security for many millions of people. 

• Learn more about COP28 here.