COP28 Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 30 November to 12 December 2023

The window of opportunity is closing

2023 is already surpassing all records and has been declared the hottest year in millennia. If anything is clear, it is that we now need to step up our ambitions in the fight against the climate crisis and make groundbreaking decisions.

The preparations for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) have been accompanied by great expectations – be it the phase-out of fossil fuels (with or without carbon capture technologies), the design of the Loss and Damage fund or the closing of the financing gap in climate policy. This and more should and must be negotiated at COP28 in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December 2023. At the same time, this climate conference is anyhting but free from criticism. Is it even possible to phase out fossil fuels at a conference presided over by the head of one of the world's largest fossil-fuel companies? Can we as a global community make the necessary decisions in Dubai with the assurance that freedom of expression will be upheld and the participation of marginalised groups will be safeguarded?

This year's UN Climate Change Conference will once again gather the global community and bring decision-makers to the negotiating table. The window of opportunity in which we can still take action, make a difference and contain the climate crisis is closing, making this year's Climate Change Conference all the more decisive.

Climate Alliance gives local needs a voice

Climate Alliance will be represented in Dubai with a small delegation and will work to make the needs of the local level and its members heard. In particular, the focus will be on strengthening the local role, the importance of multi-level governance in climate change mitigation and adaptation and the need for sufficient funding at local and regional level.

The Climate Alliance European Secretariat will be represented by Silke Lunnebach (Project Coordinator), Thomas Brose (Executive Director) and Andreas Wolter (Board President). Climate Alliance Europe is further providing its members, the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the City of Hamburg and the City of Berlin, as well as the OroVerde Foundation and a young representative of the indigenous Waorani people with accreditations thanks in part to support from Climate Alliance Italy and Climate Alliance Austria.