DUBAI, United Arab Emirates

The 2023 edition of the UN climate summit, commonly known as COP28, opened on Thursday in Dubai, as the United Arab Emirates officially assumed the presidency from Egypt.

The event is attracting over 180 heads of states and governments from across the globe. Noteworthy is the substantial number of attendance requests, exceeding 500,000 participants.

The conference is set to continue until Dec. 12.

Sultan Al Jaber, the Emirati industry and advanced technology minister, officially received the COP28 presidency from Sameh Shoukry, Egypt’s foreign minister and president of COP27.

In his opening speech, Al Jaber said: “The UAE takes pride in hosting COP28 and approaches it with a full understanding of the critical issues at this pivotal juncture,” according to the Emirates News Agency.

He pledged to “manage a working system that applies transparency principles, ensures inclusivity, and encourages free and open discussions among all parties.”

He also invited participants to “start the conference with a different mindset and to adopt an innovative and non-traditional approach to thinking.”

Shoukry, for his part, said: “We are proud to hand over the presidency of the Conference of the Parties to the United Arab Emirates and have confidence in its ability to achieve the conference’s goals.”

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Emirati vice president and ruler of Dubai, said on X, formerly known as Twitter: “We welcome over 70,000 guests from 198 countries, including heads of states, government leaders, ministers, corporate officials, international organizations, academics, and media representatives to our country.”

He added that “the UAE will continue, guided by its visionary leadership, to embrace global efforts to safeguard our planet from the risks of climate change, ensuring that future generations inherit a world conducive to life.”

The COP28 presidency focuses on achieving ambitious negotiation outcomes through a practical agenda to transform commitments and promises into tangible progress in addressing the climate crisis.

This involves providing a comprehensive and decisive response to contribute to redirecting the world back to the right path for climate action, according to the Emirates News Agency.

The 27th session of the annual UN climate change conference took place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2022.

According to the UN, Earth is now warmer by about 1.1 degrees Celsius than it was in the 19th century. The goal of the Paris Agreement is to prevent the global temperature from exceeding 1.5C (2.7F) above pre-industrial levels, as this is considered the upper limit to avoid the worst potential consequences of climate change.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala