The COP28 United Nations climate change summit - Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment

Expo City (Dubai) venue for the COP28 climate summit. Credit: UNFCCC/FLICKR

The 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, known as COP28, took place from November 30 until December 12, 2023, at the Expo City, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

The first Global Stocktake of the implementation of the Paris Agreement concluded at COP 28. Each stocktake is a two-year process that happens every five years, with the aim of assessing the world’s collective progress towards achieving its climate goals.

In the lead up to, and during COP28, the Grantham Research Institute hosted and took part in a variety of events and also published policy analysis and commentaries related to topics under discussion at the summit.

Events
Publications
Commentaries, news and announcements
Explainers

Events

Staff from the Institute took part in a variety of events at COP28. The following is a selection of some of these. Unless otherwise stated the times for events are local (Dubai) time.

Thursday Nov 30 – Opening Day

Friday Dec 1 – World Climate Action Summit

Adaptation Gap Report 2023: Key messages for adaptation action
09:30–10:30
EU Pavilion, Blue Zone
This event is organised by UNEP.
Timo Leiter (lead author of chapter 3) will be a panellist at this event.
Further details on this event can be found here

Saturday Dec 2 – World Climate Action Summit

Sunday Dec 3 – Health/Relief, Recovery and Peace

Trade and finance flows: Pathways for implementing the outcomes of the first global stocktake
13.15–14.45
SE Room 6, Blue Zone
This panel will discuss key considerations for governments and financial institutions and assess trade-investment developments, financial instruments, and the significance of global stocktake outcomes.
Nick Robins will be speaking at this event.

Mainstreaming climate smart agriculture into National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) in Africa
13:45–15:00
Moroccan Pavilion, Blue Zone
Opening remarks by the CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation
Timo Leiter will be presenting on “State of knowledge on adaptation progress”
This event is organised by GIZ, Initiative for the Adaptation of African Agriculture, Global Center on Adaptation.

Driving company and sectoral just transition plans: insights from an EU perspective
14.00–14.50 CET
Just Transition Pavilion
The side-event will showcase the state of play of company just transition plans across multiple economic sectors. The event will be an opportunity to present latest research findings from WBA, the Grantham Research Institute at LSE, and the Council for Inclusive Capitalism. The event will reveal examples of good company practices, how companies can implement just transition across their value chain and show which enabling policies (with a regional focus on the EU) can support corporate just transition action.
Jodi-Ann Wang will be moderating this event.

Monday Dec 4 – Finance/Trade/Gender Equality/Accountability

UNEP Pavilion Opening Remarks – Finance Day
10.00–10.15 UNEP Pavilion
Scene-setting on finance day priorities at UNEP Pavilion
Jodi-Ann Wang will deliver opening remarks at this event.

Independent High Level Expert Group on Climate Finance – A New Framework for Climate Finance
12:00 – 13:00
GCA Action Lab – Al Shaheen – Blue zone
This event will showcase the findings of the IHLEG report, commissioned by the COP27 and COP28 presidencies, taking stock of the climate finance gap, and bringing public and private sector together to set out the critical actions needed to mobilize the investment needed to deliver on Paris.
Nicholas Stern and Amar Bhattacharya will be presenting findings from the report at this event.
A live stream of this event will be available here

GEFI COP28 Climate Finance Summit: Financing Survival, Panel on Advancing the Transition to Net Zero for Real Economy
12.05–12.40
DIFC Atrium
With the global stocktake taking place during COP28, GEFI have developed their COP28 Climate Finance Summit in consultation with the COP28 team, bringing together leading bankers, asset managers, regulators, multilaterals and more to understand how we can finance survival.
Nick Robins will be moderating the panel discussion.

Investing in a just transition in central Europe
14:00–15:00
Bulgarian Pavilion
Brendan Curran will be on the panel.

Barriers to investing in Emerging Markets and mobilising debt markets for a Just Transition
16:00–17:00
SE for All Pavilion
Bonds as a signalling effect, question of financial architecture as a big focus, are bonds a good instrument to overcome these barriers?
Brendan Curran will be speaking at this event. Nick Robins will be moderating this event.

Transition of the Finance Sector
Spanish Pavilion
2:30–4:00pm
Nick Robins will be speaking at this event.

Tuesday Dec 5 – Energy and Industry/Just Transition/Indigenous Peoples

Adaptation Gap Report 2023: Launch event
09:00–10:00 AM,
Action Arena 1 (Al Hur), Blue Zone
Opening remarks by UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen.
This event is organised by UNEP
Timo Leiter (lead author of chapter 3) will be a panellist at this event.
Further details on this event can be found here

Making the Energy Transition Work for People: Lessons from the Just Energy Transition Partnerships
12:00–12:50
Just Transition Pavilion
Nick Robins will be speaking at this event.

World Federation of Exchanges: Just Transition Panel
DIFC, The Exchange Building, the Market site of Nasdaq Dubai (8th floor)
11:35–12:30
This event will focus on what a Just Transition looks like for different regions and the infrastructure requirements for a Just Transition.
Brendan Curran will be speaking at this event.
A live stream of this event will be available here

Value Creation through Intergenerational Equity: Launching the Sustainable Finance Youth Coalition
UNEP Pavilion
17.30–18.30
Young people—those who will live with the consequences of these decisions—are often excluded from critical policy and finance decision-making. This event aims to address this gap by providing a platform for youth to engage directly with financial institutions. By bringing these diverse voices together, we can foster a more inclusive and equitable dialogue on sustainable finance and climate action. The Sustainable Finance Youth Coalition is a network of youth organisations and advocates that seeks to centre intergenerational equity in financial systems, and is led by the Children and Youth Major Group to UNEP (CYMG) and YOUNGO, the youth constituency to UNFCCC.
Jodi-Ann Wang will be speaking at this event.
A live stream of this event will be available here

Wednesday Dec 6 – Multilevel Action, Urbanization and Built environment/Transport

Climate Equity and Inclusion Solutions – COP28 Greening Education Hub Event
10:30 – 11:30
COP28 Greening Education Hub: Al Erth Room, Green Zone
Public access to climate knowledge, and public education about climate policymaking, are crucial for equitable, effective climate action. This interactive session, featuring Abu Dhabi, New York, and London-based experts, offers a collaborative forum—inviting attendees to share experiences or bring climate education proposals for feedback.
Speakers include Alina Averchenkova.
Further details and registration information can be found here

Sustainable Finance Forum – Spotlight Interview on a Just Transition
SE Room 4, Blue Zone
11:30–13:00
Hosted by Climate Action, the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), the event will be one of the biggest finance sector events held alongside COP28.
Nick Robins will be speaking at this event.

UN Regional Commissions Official Side-Event: Responsible and inclusive management of critical energy transition minerals
SE Room 4, Blue Zone
11:30–13:00
Ensuring a sustainable supply of minerals for the low-carbon energy transition requires diversification, innovation, effective governance, transparency investment, and a circular economy. In 2021, the UN Secretary General launched the “Working Group on Transforming the Extractive Industries for Sustainable Development”, with a view to support a just energy transition through sustainable materials development.
Jodi-Ann Wang will be speaking at this event.
A live stream of this event will be available here

Just transition finance
OIF Pavilion
12:15–13:15
Jodi-Ann Wang will be speaking at this event.

Joint roundtable on spectrum of Just Transition financing hosted by the Grantham Research Institute and Institute for Human Rights and Business.
Emirates NDB Pavilion
15:00–16:30

Thursday Dec 7 – Rest Day

Friday Dec 8 – Youth, Children, Education and Skills

Informing more ambitious NDCs in 2025: Outcome of Global Stocktake
UNFCCC Pavillion and webcast: Webcast link
10:00-11:00

The event organized by the UNFCCC secretariat and its Regional Collaboration Centres seeks to share results of NDC/LEDS landscape study report in Africa, Asia and the Pacific that unpacks the state of play, challenges, opportunities for their development and implementation. It will also share practices and experiences on benefits, gaps, and constraints in developing and implementing NDCs in a build up to the next revision cycle in 2025.

Alina Averchenkova is a speaker at this event.

Commonwealth Secretariat Technical Discussion on the “Availability of Climate Finance for Youth”
Commonwealth Pavilion
12:15–13:45
The Technical Discussion on the ‘Availability of Climate Finance for Youth’ serves to address this important part of the ongoing discussions about climate financing got climate action and environmental sustainability. It recognizes that the youth play a major role in shaping the future of our planet, and their active involvement in addressing climate change is essential. This discussion aims to explore how climate finance, can be made more accessible and available to young people.
Jodi-Ann Wang will be moderating at this event.

Ratcheting integrity of net zero commitments to unlock ambition loops and regain climate momentum
16:45-18.15
SE Room 3
National net zero targets and climate litigation have strengthened markedly in recent years, and UNFCCC’s new Recognition and Accountability Framework & implementation plan should drive further transparency. This event will discuss critical opportunities to unlock ambition loops and regain momentum.
Speakers: Richard Black, Sr Assoc, ECIU; Dr Angel Hsu, Asst Prof, UNC; Dr Takeshi Kuramochi, Researcher, NewClimate Institute; Alina Averchenkova, Grantham Research Institute, LSE; Todd Edwards, Tracking & Recognition, UNFCCC; Sharon Ikeazor, Minister of State Environment, Nigeria

Recording:

Saturday Dec 9 – Nature, Land Use, and Oceans

The Commonwealth official side event: Empowering Youth Climate Leadership: Experiences from the Commonwealth in Access to Climate Finance, Capacity Building, and Technology
SE Room 2, Blue Zone
15:00–16:30
The event is organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat in collaboration with the Governments of Fiji and Zambia based on the engagement of the Secretariat in these countries around youth engagement for climate action.
Jodi-Ann Wang will be speaking at this event.

Sunday Dec 10 – Food, Agriculture and Water

Monitoring, evaluation and learning for adaptation
10:40–11:40
5th Capacity-building Hub within COP28, Blue zone
Opening remarks by a member of the Adaptation Committee
Timo Leiter will be a co-moderator at this event.
This event is oragnised by the Adaptation Committee and the NAP Global Network.

Tracking adaptation in the water sector
13:00–13:45,
Higher Education Pavilion, Blue Zone
This event is organised by the University of Pennsylvania.
Timo Leiter is a presenter at this event.

Tacking stock of climate governance for implementing a just and resilient transition to net zero
15:00-16:30
SE Room 5
What drives political commitments to net zero & their integration into national legal systems? What has been the impact of climate laws so far? How to address justice & inequalities in implementation? How can diplomacy and international cooperation foster mutual learning and strengthen implementation?

Speakers: Dr Lara Lazaro, Elcano Royal Institute, Dr Alina Averchenkova, Grantham Research Institute, LSE, others TBD

Recording:

Dec 11 and 12 – Final Negotiations

Post COP28

COP28: What happened and where do we go from here?

This event featured insights and perspectives from experts who participated in the summit. Panellists were: Nicholas Stern, Alison Campbell, Alina Averchenkova, Timo Leiter, Jodi-Ann Wang and Bob Ward.

Publications

Just Transition action: setting the scene (presentation by Nick Robins to the ‘First Annual High-level Ministerial round table on just transition’ ) – December 2023

A climate finance framework: decisive action to deliver on the Paris Agreement – summary – November 2023

Governance pathways to credible implementation of net zero targets – October 2023

Submission to the report on the doubling of adaptation finance – August 2023

Submission on the Glasgow–Sharm el-Sheikh work programme on the Global Goal on Adaptation – March 2023