COMMENT | Paris Agreement: Who, what, where, when, and why?

COMMENT | Every year, the Climate Change Conference (COP) will be held in different cities for representatives from member countries of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to meet and discuss progress made on climate change.

This time around, COP28 has been convened from Nov 30 until Dec 12, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. I came across certain quarters who claimed that COP is a waste of money, where world leaders and the like are going overseas just for fun with nothing fruitful coming out of it.

Some also questioned the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from flying those people there to attend COP. Time after time, member countries made pledges without fulfilling any.

What makes these people think that way? Well, maybe because less than 10 percent of people attending COP are negotiators, while the remaining 90 percent are there to network with others whom they share an interest with.