COP28: 5 reasons why climate talks are worth your attention

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Ask most people what the annual U.N. climate talks are and the likely answer will be: “Huh?” Ask those who do know and the answer may be: “Why should I care?”

The negotiations, called Conference of Parties, are nearly two weeks long and in their 28th iteration in Dubai. Delegates use wonky terms like “NDCs” “1.5 degrees” and “loss and damage,” not exactly conversation starters at parties. Any final decision is non-binding, meaning countries can agree to something and then not follow through. And when tens of thousands of people travel to the event, a lot of greenhouse gas emissions are produced, which is contrary to the entire point of the conference.

So why bother?

Even many climate watchers sometimes ask that question, and there is a growing debate about whether the current process needs major reforms. But viewed with a long lens — and with the proviso that progress is often more of a slow trickle than a dramatic event and impact — there are many reasons that the talks can prove worthwhile.

The push for compliance (in a public forum) is a key part of COP — in the form of the development of “Nationally Determined Contributions,” referred to as NDCs.

These are plans by individual countries to reduce their use of oil, gas and coal, which produce greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, and lay out how they plan to adapt to impacts of extreme weather events.

The plans are required by all nations that signed on to the 2015 Paris Agreement, arguably the most significant Conference of Parties to date. The plans are public, setting broad targets that industries and individuals in respective countries can see while also providing a chance for other countries, and news organizations, to scrutinize them. Countries are encouraged and expected to update and “raise ambition” in their plans, creating a level of peer pressure for nations to keep promises.

FILE — Claudia Ondo attends a youth session at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

That’s something that individual entities sometimes have trouble doing.

The Paris agreement established a