Written by By Simon Murphy, CNN
Dubai’s ruler said the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would hold the annual United Nations climate conference in 2023.
On Saturday, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , the prime minister and vice president of the UAE, said the country was “taking advantage of the current global climate debate that is getting a lot of attention,” to make this a reality.
“Next year, the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference will be held in our country, as part of our ongoing efforts to implement zero net emission goals in the UAE,” he wrote on Facebook.
“We aim to produce zero emissions by 2050 and this conference can help us achieve these targets.”
Climate is one of the main topics of the upcoming climate conference, which will be called “COP 28,” will be held in Dubai in November. The United Nations is expecting 40,000 delegates, from 200 countries.
The summit will also come a few months after the Expo 2020 event, which is being held in the city and will see more than 500 exhibitors display their goods and experiences to an estimated 50 million visitors.
Climate change is one of the main topics of the upcoming conference, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres naming it as the “central theme” of the upcoming edition of UN climate talks.
“Climate change now poses the most significant global challenge of our time,” he said in March, when he officially opened the UN’s newest Climate Change Secretariat on the banks of the Thames.
“It’s time to act boldly, and think differently,” he added.
Ariel Winter, 13, attends a news conference with Rob Schneiderman, Terry Crews and Alexander Skarsgard on renewable energy. Credit: KEVIN WONG/REUTERS
The 10 year goal was revealed in May last year, at the same time as a new report presented figures showing that only 3% of the world’s emissions had been cut since the Paris Climate Accord.
According to the Climate Alliance, around 300 parties have committed to lowering their emissions by 40% below 2005 levels by 2030. However, a study published in January found that a much bigger reduction is needed to prevent the most catastrophic effects of climate change.
In January, UNESCO Secretary-General Irina Bokova called on the world to adopt a new global framework for combating climate change to succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2020.
“We need a different and stronger platform for agreement in a multi-stakeholder process and starting from the framework. If we do not adapt to the new and changing conditions, there will be no alternative to steps now to prevent climate change,” she said.
“Climate change is a global threat; we need a global solution.”