GHV In Action: Reflections on the COP28 Conference

Conference Read-out
COP 28

Last December, I had the opportunity to attend COP28 – the world's largest annual climate convening– in Dubai to assist key partners like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with climate advocacy work on the ground and learn more about what was happening in the climate community for GHV.

Given our agriculture, nutrition, and food systems work, I went to COP28 focused on food's prominence in programming and policy dialogues and a desire to explore health connections to climate for the first-ever Climate and Health Day. In terms of programming, events, and attendance, COP28 was one for the books!

• COP28 Expo City spanned 1000 acres, easily had 100+ meeting spaces and event venues, and was quickest to navigate through scooter rental, bicycle, golf cart ride, or the Disney-esque Expo City train.
• COP28 had a record-high attendance of 80,000-90,000 people, shattering the previous record of 38,000 attendance from COP26 in Glasgow.
• Food systems and agriculture were elevated to the COP main stage on World Leaders Day for the first time – 159+ countries signed the Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action. The food systems, agriculture, and nutrition community galvanized to coordinate and host over 700 events across the two weeks.
• Health had its first thematic day at COP, with a sizeable presence of the global health community coming together – 149 countries signed the Leaders' Declaration on Climate and Health.
• COP28 also saw the first-ever Global Stock Take (GST) to evaluate how we’re tracking toward the 2015 Paris Agreement (in short, we’re not).

While world leaders and delegations were hard at work in the UN officials' Blue Zone, I attended public events and panels across the first week, which included themed days spanning Health, Relief, Recovery and Peace, Finance, Trade, Gender Equality, Accountability, Just Transition, and Indigenous Peoples.

The word of the week seemed to be "nexus." The intersectionality of challenges and opportunities in gender, health, fragility and conflict, disaster response, technology, youth, and education particularly stood out to me.

There were also several ideas, concepts, and organizations focused on solutions that have stayed with me since my journey home.

• Connecting Climate Minds highlighted the importance of focusing on climate change and mental health. Climate TRACE demonstrated an open-source AI collaboration tracking CO2 emissions globally.
• Kenya's grassroots climate change committees were referenced as new ways to operate at a sub-national (local ward) level.
• The Global Task Force on Cholera Control Country Support Platform was referenced as an example of "what's working well" in country-level and community coordination.
• Angelica Ponce Chambi closed a UN panel with moving words that "Women are Mother Earth."
• Organizations like EmpoderaClima highlighted young feminist solutions to climate change.

‍

COP28 was overstimulating, overwhelming, thought-provoking, and inspiring. Our food systems, agriculture, nutrition, and climate adaptation advocacy community had some wins, but unfortunately, we've barely scratched the surface of what needs to be done.

However, I left feeling optimistic about the energy individuals and organizations are putting towards our collective climate crisis outside these multilateral processes and high-level gatherings. I hope that energy continues well past the event into this year and beyond and that we can recognize and learn from work happening at national and local levels.