COP28 Goals & Agenda

From the 30^th November 2023 to the 12^th December 2023, the United Nations Climate Change 28^th Conference of Partners (COP28) will convene at Dubai.  Red Sycamore will be attending.  As President of the Board, and Chief Executive Officer of Equinox GEMTZ, I will be chairing a panel on “Carbon Credits: the Next Financial Instrument”.  Ng Kin Foong, Chief Executive Officer of Red Sycamore, will chair the panel on “ESG & Startups”.  The panels will be in the Green Zone, under IEEE. 

Hopefully, this event will be a milestone and address the contentions raised in previous iterations of this event.  We are past the point of “climate change”, and we should call it what it is: a climate crisis.  We are not meeting our climate goals, and this is the time for us to come together, get on track, and invest in coastal communities, ocean initiatives, and blue carbon.  The Red Sycamore position is that investing in blue carbon credits addresses many other issues such as preserving biodiversity, securing food security, and mitigating salination of water tables.  Blue carbon refers to the carbon stored in coastal and marine ecosystems. 

The intent is for our conversation to build on the developments of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.  The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is a document that was adopted by almost 200 countries at the 15^th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in December 2022.  It is a plan to protect and restore nature by 2050.  The framework includes targets for reducing threats to biodiversity, ensuring that ecosystems are resilient, and enhancing the benefits derived from biodiversity and ecosystems.  It also emphasises the importance of mainstreaming biodiversity across government and society, and the need for adequate financial resources, capacity-building, and technology transfer to implement the framework.  This should be addressed in tandem with the agreement on a new UN High Seas Treaty. 

COP28 is especially significant because we will have our first Global Stocktake (GST).  The GST is a critical process under the Paris Agreement that aims to assess the state of our planet and chart a better course for the future.  It is an inventory of everything related to where the world stands on climate action and support, identifying the gaps, and working together to agree on solutions pathways to 2030 and beyond.  The GST is intended to evaluate progress on climate action at the global level — not the national level — and identify overall gaps to achieve the Paris Agreement as well as opportunities to bridge them.  The first stocktake got underway at COP26 and will conclude at this COP28.  Each stocktake is a two-year process that happens every five years. 

The initial findings of the GST are that there has been limited progress on our climate goals, and significantly more financing, more action, and most importantly more political will, is needed if the world is to meet its Paris targets.  We are so far behind.  COP28 will also look to adopt a framework to implement the Global Goal on Adaptation.  The desire to see progress in the development of funding mechanisms and commitments for addressing Loss and Damage.  The Loss and Damage Fund is a significant focus at COP28.  This fund is intended to compensate vulnerable countries for natural disasters caused by climate change.  The concept of “loss and damage” broadly refers to economic or other losses caused by climate change that go beyond a country’s ability to adapt.  This could include sudden damage caused by extreme weather linked to climate change, or longer-term consequences of sea level rise.  We are hoping to see countries adopt a consensus proposal reached by negotiators earlier, but any country could choose to reopen the issue.  The current consensus relies on compromises on several issues that have divided developed and developing countries. 

The Loss and Damage Fund will be administered at first by the World Bank, and will draw on funding sources including large developing countries as well as the US, the EU, and the UK.  No firm target has been set for how much money the fund will disburse, but countries most affected by the climate crisis hope it will reach hundreds of billions of dollars within a few years.  Regardless, this is still inadequate when projections are that the cost will be in the trillions.  According to the Swiss Re Institute, the impact of climate change could wipe off up to 18% of the GDP of the worldwide economy by 2050, if global temperatures rise by 3.2°C.  The global economy could lose 10% of its total economic value by 2050 due to climate change.  The impact of climate change has been forecasted to be the hardest hit for Asian economies, with a 5.5% impact to GDP in the best-case scenario, and 26.5% impact in a severe scenario.  These projections are based on current trajectories and could change if more aggressive climate action is taken.  It is a reminder of the urgent need for countries around the world to take decisive action to mitigate the impacts of climate change. 

In light of these alarming figures, Red Sycamore wants to use its platform at COP28 to push for the prioritisation of blue carbon solutions, supported by concrete financial commitments and pathways.  There should be significantly scaling of finance commitments and an acceleration of climate finance initiatives to fund mitigation and adaptation actions that support the preservation and restoration of coastal areas within national jurisdictions. 

We also want to advocate for government commitments to new and more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and national climate action plans that include the rights of coastal communities.  We need to support these communities in helping to restore the maritime capacity to sequester and store blue carbon.  Seagrasses are marine plants that form dense underwater meadows in coastal areas around the world.  These ecosystems play a crucial role in sequestering carbon and providing various ecological benefits.  Seagrasses are considered one of the most effective blue carbon reservoirs.  Seagrasses, along with mangroves and salt marshes, are important contributors to blue carbon storage. Seagrasses sequesters carbon dioxide (CO²) from the atmosphere and store it in their biomass and in the sediments where they grow.  The carbon sequestration capacity of seagrasses is relatively high compared to other ecosystems.  Seagrasses capture and store carbon in their above-ground and below-ground biomass. The below-ground structures, such as rhizomes and roots, trap organic carbon in the sediment, preventing its release into the atmosphere.  The organic matter produced by seagrasses contributes to the accumulation of carbon in coastal sediments.  This stored carbon can remain locked away for extended periods, acting as a long-term carbon sink. 

Seagrass meadows help stabilise coastal sediments, providing protection against erosion.  This stabilisation helps to maintain the integrity of the carbon-rich sediments and prevents the release of stored carbon into the water.  Seagrass ecosystems are rich in biodiversity, providing habitats for various marine organisms.  The diverse community of organisms in seagrass meadows contributes to the cycling of nutrients and the overall health of the ecosystem.  Although seagrass meadows cover only a small percentage of the ocean floor, they are estimated to be responsible for a disproportionately large share of carbon sequestration in coastal areas.  Seagrass meadows are under threat from various human activities, including coastal development, pollution, and climate change.  When seagrasses are degraded or destroyed, the stored carbon can be released back into the environment.  Recognising the importance of seagrass ecosystems in carbon sequestration, conservation efforts are underway to protect and restore seagrass habitats. These efforts involve sustainable coastal management practices and the establishment of marine protected areas. 

Seagrasses are vital contributors to blue carbon storage, playing a crucial role in mitigating climate change by sequestering carbon in their biomass and sediments.  Protecting and restoring seagrass ecosystems is not only important for carbon sequestration but also for the overall health and resilience of coastal environments.  We need to ensure that the role of coastal blue carbon ecosystems is recognised.  That is why we are pushing for more ESG startups in this area, and the pivot towards the compliance market for the trading of what will eventually be fungible blue carbon credits.  For this to happen, these discussions need to be integrated across UNFCCC negotiations for the mitigation, adaptation, and growth of these initiatives.  This includes a bolstered understanding of financing options for restoration of coastal ecosystem, including through Article 6 of the COP, Article 6 which regulates voluntary cooperation among countries to achieve their NDCs to reducing emissions.  This Article incorporates market mechanisms and non-market approaches, including cooperation in areas such as finance, technology transfer and capacity building.  As an extension for preserving the ocean, we support a moratorium on deep-seabed mining, pending further study on their effects on the environment and the carbon footprint caused from releasing CO₂ sequestered in the seabed. 

In summary, there is much work to be done.  There is much riding on this panel discussion, and how we shape this conversation, and bring it back to Singapore.  To address this climate crisis, to advocate for true sustainability, it is necessary for us to save the oceans, because that is the key to our continued quality of life.