3 December
HEALTH / RELIEF, RECOVERY AND PEACE
These two themes, new to the COPs, aim to promote policies and investments that protect lives and livelihoods and support the resilience and stability of communities.
COP28 will host the first Health Day and a ministerial meeting on climate and health, which aims to build consensus on priority actions for the health system’s response to climate change, together with financial commitments for implementation. The Relief, Recovery and Peace Day will focus on accelerating adaptation, and on preventing and managing loss and damage, including in fragile and conflict-affected contexts, which face serious obstacles in accessing climate finance and stepping up climate action.
4 December
FINANCE / TRADE / GENDER EQUALITY / ACCOUNTABILITY
COP28 has invited stakeholders to close outstanding commitments. It will work with others to articulate a future vision on scaling up climate finance.
To reach the necessary scale, we will present a presidential agenda to showcase specific innovative approaches to closing financial gaps, especially where they are most needed. This will include increasing private finance to invest in the climate transition in order to support inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
This thematic day at COP28 will focus on three key aspects: stepping up efforts, improving access and increasing affordability. This will involve reforms of the international financial system, the provision of greater concessional support, the development of sustainable financial markets and the strengthening of voluntary carbon markets.
In addition, COP28 will introduce trade as a means for fair, climate-friendly growth, encompassing decarbonisation, transition and supply chain resilience.
We must also address the challenges that hinder financial support for women, girls and marginalised groups. This includes ensuring a just transition and finding solutions to broaden access to finance. The programme will also examine accountability mechanisms to turn promises and ambitions into tangible results.
The main objectives of this day are:
- To present a coherent and ambitious action agenda on finance, with a range of public, private and blended finance solutions to accelerate action and close the climate finance gap. These solutions will involve action in the financial and carbon markets by UAE institutions and international partners, IFIs and philanthropic organisations, building on efforts both within and outside the UNFCCC process, and will generate new financial resources for the climate transition, particularly for developing economies. The initiatives are designed to highlight how climate finance must be structured to achieve true transformation.
- To promote a gender-just transition by supporting equal opportunities for decent work in affected green sectors and in emerging ones, backed by gender-disaggregated data and gender-responsive finance.
- To establish accountability by strengthening accountability measures at COPs. This includes setting common standards and creating a basis for greater accountability, especially for the private sector, including a high-integrity net zero accountability and recognition system.
- To increase the potential of international trade as a lever in climate action by laying the groundwork for the international trade community to step up its role in designing and delivering climate action solutions, in particular with regard to supporting a just transition and enabling market access policies for MSMEs, in order to engage meaningfully with global supply chains and governments.
5 December
ENERGY AND INDUSTRY / JUST TRANSITION / INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
This day will focus on the levers and pathways for rapid decarbonisation, job growth, economic opportunities and a just transition across the entire energy and industrial value chain – while accelerating economic opportunities and job growth, taking a holistic view of the just transition and of socioeconomic considerations across all sectors, including energy.
Key topics in the energy and industry pathway will include the massive deployment of renewables, greater energy efficiency, innovation and action for high-emitting sectors (including steel, cement and aluminium), unlocking the potential of hydrogen and the decarbonisation of oil and gas, including through methane abatement and carbon management technologies.
The day will also address universal access to energy and the needs of workers during the energy sector transition, and will focus further on cooling as a critical factor for mitigation and adaptation.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day will recognise the importance of the knowledge, practices and intergenerational leadership of indigenous peoples in climate action and in protecting planetary health, as well as of mechanisms to improve their direct access to finance. The day will in particular reinforce the role of indigenous peoples – and the urgency of a fully inclusive, whole-of-society approach – in the just transition.
6 December
MULTILEVEL ACTION, URBANISATION AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT / TRANSPORT
COP28 will see a historic presence of local leaders, including mayors, governors,
parliamentarians, business people and civil society leaders, united to accelerate climate action at all levels of government and society. The day will also highlight solutions for the transition to low-carbon, resilient built environments and infrastructure, sustainable and circular waste systems, and sustainable mobility and freight. The day will focus in particular on interventions in urban areas, where population growth, economic activity and greenhouse gas emissions converge.
7 December
REST DAY
8 December
YOUTH, CHILDREN, EDUCATION AND SKILLS
This day aims to give young people the opportunity to shape the outcomes of COP28 and future ones, particularly considering the disproportionate risks and impacts of climate change for children and young people. The day will examine equitable representation, stronger engagement mechanisms and the allocation of resources within COP themes and policy pathways. The focus areas will include investment in youth-led innovation and entrepreneurship, inclusion in policy decision-making processes, capacity building and the transformation of education to close the skills gap for green jobs in line with climate action.
9 December
NATURE, LAND USE AND OCEANS
The conservation, restoration and sustainable management of nature are essential to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.
In an effort to transform land use and ocean systems to support climate-aligned, nature-positive development, this thematic day will focus on developing robust solutions that protect, restore and effectively manage natural ecosystems, address the drivers of natural environment loss, empower indigenous peoples and local communities, and create resilient livelihoods.
The day will also highlight enabling actions that unlock new financial flows and integrate climate-nature synergies into transition plans and reporting frameworks.
The day will also showcase efforts to accelerate the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the recently adopted agreement that provides a clear framework for halting and reversing the loss of natural environments, to help secure a climate-safe future.
10 December
FOOD, AGRICULTURE AND WATER
Climate change is creating strong pressures and risks for the agrifood and water systems that underpin human wellbeing.
At the same time, these systems are a major contributor to climate change: a third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions come from agrifood systems, and 70% of the freshwater consumed worldwide is used for agricultural production.
Specific focus areas on food and agriculture include investment in innovation, regenerative agriculture and national transformation pathways, supported by financing mechanisms and project preparation. Water programming will also cover freshwater restoration and conservation, infrastructure for urban water resilience, and the integrated governance and management of water-food systems.
11-12 December
FINAL NEGOTIATIONS
There will be no thematic days in the last two days of COP28, to avoid appendices to the programming while the negotiating text is being finalised.
