Ministers representing the world’s 46 least developed countries (LDCs) have come together to issue a powerful joint declaration, known as the Dakar Declaration on Climate Change 2023. This declaration outlines their collective expectations and priorities for the upcoming 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The COP28 is scheduled to be held from November 30, 2023, to December 12, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The Dakar Declaration stands as a call for immediate and resolute action on several critical fronts:
- Urgent Global Emissions Reductions: The LDCs, despite representing over 14 percent of the global population, contribute merely 1 percent of emissions from fossil fuels and industrial processes. Emphasizing their limited historical responsibility for climate change, they call for swift and substantial reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions.
- Increased Climate Finance: The declaration stresses the need for augmented climate finance, particularly focusing on adaptation efforts. Developed countries are urged to present a clear roadmap for doubling adaptation finance by 2025, using public, grant-based financing.
- Operationalizing the Loss and Damage Fund: The LDCs highlight the importance of an effective operationalization of the new Loss and Damage Fund. This fund is crucial for addressing the impacts of climate change that go beyond adaptation capabilities and for supporting vulnerable nations facing these losses and damages.
- Ambitious Global Stocktake: To bridge the existing gaps in global climate action, the LDCs call for an ambitious Global Stocktake—a comprehensive assessment of progress towards climate goals.
The ministers base their call for action on the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report (IPCC AR6), which underscores the urgency of addressing climate change. With global greenhouse gas emissions continuing to rise, the world is swiftly approaching the critical 1.5°C warming threshold.
The LDCs urge all nations, especially major emitters, to urgently and significantly reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, they emphasize the necessity for countries to revisit and strengthen their 2030 targets within their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to align with the collective effort required to limit global warming to 1.5°C—a key goal of the Paris Agreement.
The Dakar Declaration also calls for transformative changes in climate finance:
- A New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance: This goal should provide new and additional resources, significantly surpassing the current $100 billion per year floor.
- UNFCCC Centralized Carbon Market Mechanism: This mechanism must be operationalized by 2024, with special consideration for the specific needs and circumstances of LDCs.
- Implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement’s Capacity Building Programme: The declaration emphasizes the importance of building the capacity necessary for effective climate action.
Senegal’s Minister of Environment, Alioune Ndoye, stressed that achieving the 1.5°C goal set in the 2015 Paris Agreement is contingent on changing global production and consumption patterns. COP28 presents an opportunity to accelerate climate action and meet the needs of LDCs.
Madeleine Diouf Sarr, Chair of the LDC Group, emphasized that a successful COP28 necessitates a united commitment to deep global emissions reductions, a substantial increase in renewable energy deployment, and a commitment to leaving no one behind in addressing this climate crisis.
In summary, the Dakar Declaration on Climate Change 2023 reflects the urgent call of the LDCs for ambitious climate action, enhanced financing, and a concerted effort by all nations to address the pressing challenges posed by climate change. It underscores the critical role that COP28 will play in shaping the global response to this existential threat.