What happened at COP28?

In November, Oxfam joined world and Indigenous leaders, environmental organizations, activists, and an unprecedented amount of fossil fuel industry representatives in Dubai for the two-week-long 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or, as it’s more commonly known, COP28.

Every year, attendees review the current state of climate change and how it’s being dealt with, then discuss actionable items that will help reduce climate impact in the future. This year especially—which is projected to be the hottest year ever recorded—it was important for Oxfam and our partners to hold world leaders accountable. Here’s how it went:

What were Oxfam’s goals?

Oxfam went to COP28 to advocate for world leaders and rich countries to:

• Agree to fully phase out all fossil fuels in an equitable manner
• Follow through with previous climate aid promises to support lower-income countries with climate mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage
• Finance and commit to a just energy transition
• Use a loss and damage fund to commit to fair financial support for communities impacted by climate disasters

While these goals were lofty, Oxfam believed they were important to ensure that people around the world, especially those most vulnerable to climate disasters, are protected from the worst of climate change.

What did Oxfam do at COP28?

At COP28, multiple Oxfam representatives, along with youth climate activists, participated in many advocacy events and moments, including:

• Amplifying our Make Rich Polluters Pay petition, which had over 500,000 of our supporters’ signatures, with the help of youth activists who attended the conference.
• Announcing our Building Resilient, Adaptive, and Disaster-Ready Communities campaign at an event hosted by Oxfam America President Abby Maxman and moderated by Chelsea Clinton (find out more about the campaign here).
• Participating in a protest to demand world leaders make rich polluters pay their fair share for a just energy transition.
• Co-organizing a dialogue between non-profits in the U.S. and Latin America in order to strengthen their joint advocacy efforts to make loss and damage initiatives focused on justice.
• Being part of, or hosting many panels and side events that covered a variety of areas, including gender justice, climate finances, just energy transitions, renewable energy sources, and more.
• Participating in a demonstration, along with other advocates, to demand an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza.

Change isn’t made overnight, but by continuing our work in spaces that matter, like COP28, we are able to take a step closer to our climate goals.

What were the outcomes of COP28?

The conference did not achieve everything that Oxfam had hoped for, but it did make some improvements that signaled progress, including:

• For the first time, the need to end the era of fossil fuels was recognized. The conference called for a “transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly, and equitable manner.” While the language that was used to address this issue was much weaker than it needs to be, it’s a movement in the right direction.
• An agreement was made to double the world’s energy efficiency and triple its renewable energy by 2030.
• Leaders formed a loss and damage fund to support communities dealing with climate disasters. Countries have pledged a total of $700 million so far, but Lyndsay Walsh, Oxfam’s climate policy advisor, says the pledges are “a fraction of what is needed.”

These outcomes did not live up to the hype of great change that was promised by world leaders leading up to the conference, but at the very least, they are encouraging. According to Oxfam International’s Climate Change Policy Lead Nafkote Dabi, “oil, coal and gas won again, but they had to struggle harder to do so and their era is nearing its end.”

So, what’s next?

Some steps forward were taken during COP28, but there’s still a lot that needs to be done to reduce the impacts of climate change and make sure the promises made during the conference are kept and acted upon in a timely manner. Moving forward, we must:

• Hold the World Bank, which is the interim host of the loss and damage fund, accountable so it fulfills the conditions laid out in the loss and damage fund agreement.
• Make sure adequate financial support is given to countries that do not have the GDP to transition to renewable energy sources.
• Advocate for Congress to fund President Biden’s $11.4 billion pledge to help lower-income countries combat climate change, which includes giving $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund.
• Take the vague targets on how to adapt to climate change that were developed at COP28 and make them more specific and actionable.

Through these tasks, Oxfam will continue its fight to promote the importance of ending the era of fossil fuels via a just energy transition and making rich polluters pay for the role they have played in enhancing the climate crisis. We can’t do it alone though. With your support, we can create a better future for all.