Global Health reveals its goals at “Cop28”

Al-Mandhari said that the world is waiting for COP28 to be held. To discuss many important issues related to climate change, especially after the huge losses the world witnessed as a result of natural disasters that occurred this year, such as floods, torrents, and hurricanes.

This year’s summit is distinguished by the decision of the COP28 administration to devote an entire day of the conference to caring for climate change and health issues, according to the Regional Director of Global Health.

This edition of the United Nations Climate Conference represents a turning point in the history of confronting climate change, after the Paris Agreement “COP21” held in France in 2015, which is the first global agreement legally binding to work to limit the phenomenon of global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius and to continue efforts. To limit the temperature rise to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to the level before the industrial revolution.

A humanitarian character for the Loss and Damage Fund

Al-Mandhari identified the goals that the World Health Organization hopes to adopt during COP28, saying:

• We expect to discuss the details of the Loss and Damage Fund, particularly health losses resulting from climate change, which will be a driver of discussions towards approving the Fund.
• The World Health Organization pays special attention to humanizing the Loss and Damage Fund, by calculating losses resulting from loss of life, injuries, the cost of treatment, and absence from work, as well as economic losses resulting from the destruction of health care institutions or their disruption of providing health services, in addition to health damages. Indirect, such as food shortages and pollution of drinking water and air.
• With growing fears of the occurrence of new global pandemics that climate change may cause or aid in their spread, we at the World Health Organization express our concern, as global and regional climate change models indicate an increasing chance of floods occurring, an increase in severe heat waves, and a worsening of water scarcity. Drought, and sea level rise in coastal cities of the region, and all of these changes may lead to disasters for human health and the environment.
• We hope that the summit will be successful and that health will be placed as a permanent item on the agenda in the coming years. ‎

Compensation fund

The most important achievement achieved by the “Cop27” conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, was the establishment of a fund aimed at compensating for “losses and damages” inflicted on countries that are particularly and directly exposed to climate disasters, and which are historically least responsible for greenhouse gas emissions.

But establishing this new fund project became complicated, and negotiations remained stalled for a year. One of the problems that must be resolved revolves around who should pay? Who will benefit from it? Who should be responsible for managing it?

A fragile compromise was reached regarding its activation in early November, amid hopes that it would be approved during this year’s edition of the conference.

This year’s conference aims to achieve tangible change and move the Conference of the Parties from being a platform for dialogue and negotiation to taking actual measures to bring about positive change at all levels, as the conference reflects the UAE’s wide-ranging activity to enhance the participation of various segments of society in supporting climate action in a way that contributes to achieving progress. Tangible, effective and lasting.