LONDON, CMC – Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland KC says she will use her participation at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) to urge negotiators to deliver a transformative outcome at the summit.
“The worst predictions of climate change have become a daily reality. In the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable countries, fertile lands are turning to dust, wells are running dry, storms and floods are overwhelming communities, and the ocean is rising.”
Scotland said this represents a threat to the health, welfare, and survival of millions of people and the collective stability and economic prospects.
“Yet as climate change advances, the gap on emissions, finance, and justice has widened, while the window for action continues to narrow. COP28 must close that gap,” she added.
COP 28 will be held in Dubai from November 30 to December 12. Scotland, leading a Commonwealth delegation to the summit, said she would call for accelerated action on the climate crisis in light of intensifying threats to small and vulnerable member countries.
The Secretary-General is expected to address several events at the summit, is also likely to urge negotiators to accelerate efforts to implement national climate plans mandated under the Paris Agreement, using the findings of the ‘global stocktake’ report to increase ambition and action, and delivering an inclusive, operational Loss and Damage Fund.
The organizers said the COP28 thematic program is designed to unite a diverse range of holders, including governments, youth, business and investors, civil society, frontline communities, indigenous peoples, and others, around specific solutions that must be scaled up this decade to limit warming to 1.5 degrees.
The London-based Commonwealth Secretariat said that Scotland will also officially open the Commonwealth Pavilion at COP28, which will host an estimated 40 events demonstrating the Commonwealth’s ability to convene vital dialogues between governments, experts, businesses, youth leaders, and civil society.
She will also meet with leaders and ministers from the 56 Commonwealth member countries and the international community to advance progress on emissions, finance, adaptation, biodiversity, oceans, health, innovation, and the green economy.
“Every day of delay makes life more dangerous and makes climate action more complex, challenging, and expensive. There can be no more delays and excuses – this is the time for implementation.”
“The health of us all and our planet rests on a 1.5°C degree cap on global warming. We cannot lose sight of that objective, and I implore leaders at COP28 to renew their determination to deliver a bright, resilient, sustainable common world – now and for generations to come,” Scotland said ahead of the summit.
In her participation at the summit, the Commonwealth Secretariat said that Scotland will inform delegates about the Commonwealth’s programs, including the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub, which has mobilized US$310 million in climate finance for 17 vulnerable member countries.
She will also refer to the Commonwealth Blue Charter, which is an agreement by all 56 member countries to actively cooperate to address shared ocean challenges, as well as the Commonwealth Disaster Risk Finance Portal, which gives countries open, 24-hour hour access to crucial information on financing to manage the impact of disasters better; and
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