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<\/p>\nDUBAI – The latest round of UN-facilitated climate talks opened on Thursday, 30 November 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with a warning that the world is taking \u201cbaby steps\u201d in the face of a terrifying planetary crisis that requires bold action now.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe are taking baby steps and stepping far too slowly to work out the best responses to the complex climate impacts we are faced with,\u201d Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change Simon Stiell told delegates gathered for COP28.<\/p>\n
The 28th<\/sup> annual meeting known as \u2018COP\u2019 after the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is scheduled to run through to 12 December.<\/p>\n The action takes place at the sprawling campus of Expo City decorated with trees and foliage. It is located on the outskirts of Dubai and is expected to host over 70,000 delegates, climate negotiators and other participants coming together to shape a better future for the planet.<\/p>\n And not a moment too soon: just hours ahead of the opening of the COP, the UN weather agency, known as WMO, issued a provisional report saying that this\u00a0has \u201cshattered\u201d climate records accompanied by extreme weather which has left a trail of devastation and despair.<\/p>\n What\u2019s at stake\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n In his remarks on Thursday, UN climate chief Stiell outlined just what\u2019s at stake. \u201cThis has been the hottest year ever for humanity. So many terrifying records were broken,\u201d he said, adding: We are paying with people\u2019s lives and livelihoods.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cScience tells us we have around six years before we exhaust the planet\u2019s ability to cope with our emissions. Before we blow through the 1.5-degree limit,\u201d he warned, referring to one of the keystone targets under the landmark Paris Agreement.<\/p>\n Ominously, a steady stream of reports\u00a0published in the lead up to COP28 have shown that the world is way off-track in achieving climate goals and in the absence of ambitious action, we are heading towards a temperature increase of 3 degrees by the end of this century.<\/p>\n Against this backdrop, Stiell called on countries to deliver ambitious new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), or national climate action plans where every single commitment in 2025 \u2013 on finance, adaptation, and mitigation \u2013 must be in line with a 1.5-degree world.<\/p>\n