Why biodiversity, water, and agriculture have become the leading issues at COP28

While climate diplomacy experts see the need to "correct the direction" of current environmental action in order to protect 30% of oceans and land by 2030, some countries and institutions are proposing concrete solutions to other critical issues as well

José Miguel Pascual Labrador

At the Dubai United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), places like the Amazon are using their platform to gather support. The Green Coalition of Public Development Banks warned that one of society's major challenges is to reforest the Amazon, home to 30% of the world's wildlife and 40 million people, including 385 indigenous peoples (71 of them in full isolation). Over the last 20 years, more than 50 hectares of this forest, considered the lungs of the planet, have been lost. Advocates are thus demanding that operating models be changed, as well as calls for improving business scalability, respecting local communities, and generating environmental and socially responsible agreements.

Another major discussion at this meeting was once again the water and its management. According to UN-Habitat, 884 million people don’t have access to safe drinking water and 40% of the world's population lacks access to basic sanitation. By 2030, the demand for this resource is expected to increase by 40% above current levels. In this edition, the Netherlands and Tajikistan led the collective action on water and climate in charge of finding measures to restore 30% of freshwater reserves in the next decade, among other objectives. 

Thus, nations such as Jordan proposed developing a desalination project for water from the Red Sea in order to combat drought, which could later be replicated elsewhere. Finally, the international delegation of WaterAid stipulated that at least 600 million euros is needed to act as an initial “catalyst” and for other sectors to provide transformational investments in sustainable water management.

Photo: EFE

Related to this topic, there were also different sessions that took place to analyze the relationship between agriculture and climate. For experts, climate change has increasingly undermined food security, with a direct impact on community cohesion and economic development. In this regard, the COP28 Presidency announced that 134 world leaders have signed up to an agriculture, food, and climate action declaration, together with the mobilization of more than 2.5 billion dollars in funding to support food security and a new partnership between the UAE and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate food system innovations that help adapt them to climate change. In addition, five countries—Brazil, Cambodia, Norway, Sierra Leon, and Rwanda—presented the Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation, with the aim of achieving "universal" access to affordable, nutritional, and sustainable diets during this decade. 

As for legal issues affecting climate, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) warned in Dubai that crimes affecting the environment - such as illegal deforestation, marine pollution, and wild species trafficking - contribute to the rapid degradation of ecosystems. 

These topics all addressed the same core issue: the steps that need to be taken to ensure sustainability and a better future for our planet.