At the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, COP28, the world’s highest decision-making body on climate issues will meet to negotiate and agree on action for how to meet the level of ambition the world needs to tackle mounting environmental change. Science must be at the heart of these negotiations, and Future Earth delegates and researchers will be at the Conference working to make it so. Future Earth is an accredited observer of UNFCCC.

The latest science from the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report emphasizes the urgency for governments to commit to tougher targets and accelerate fossil fuel phaseout, echoing warnings that scientists have been giving for years about climate change. COP28 will feature the first Global Stocktake, the legally binding Paris Agreement clause to limit global warming to 1.5C.

The COP28 Presidency has laid out an agenda focused on four paradigm shifts to guide work under the negotiating mandates:

• Fast-tracking the just, equitable and orderly energy transition and slashing emissions before 2030
• Transforming climate finance by delivering on old promises and setting the framework for a new deal on finance
• Putting nature, people, lives and livelihoods at the heart of climate action
• Mobilizing for an inclusive COP.

Below is a calendar of the events we are either hosting or contributing to, including a couple of events in the days immediately following COP28. This post will be updated with the latest information throughout the next few weeks. All times are GST unless otherwise noted.

Thursday 30 November

Time: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Title: High-level session on systems change and innovation for climate and sustainability action
Location: Mobility Petal at the Blue Zone
Speaker: Renuka Thakore (SSCP Knowledge-Action Network)

Time: 5:00 – 6:00 PM
Title: EmpowerHER: A Holistic Approach to Gender Equality, Women’s Empowerment, and Inclusive Development
Location: Mobility Petal at the Blue Zone
Speaker: Renuka Thakore (SSCP Knowledge-Action Network)

Friday 1 December

Time: 4:30 – 6:00 PM
Title: From Science to Action: Overcoming Challenges in Implementing Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) Pathways
Location: Germany Pavilion
Speakers: Steve Smith (GCP), Julia Pongratz (GCP, AIMES).

Time: 10:00 – 11:15 AM
Title: Positive tipping points – how to bridge the gap between solutions and climate negotiations
Location: Swedish Pavilion, Blue Zone
Speakers: Dr. David Obura, Commissioner of the Earth Commission, Director Cordio East Africa and Chair, Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES); Dr. Arunabha Ghosh, Founder and CEO of the Council of Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW); Lena Hök, Executive VP Sustainability and Innovation at Skanska; Jonas Otterheim, Head of Climate Action at Volvo Cars; Bella Tonkonogy, Director at Climate Policy Initiative.

Saturday 2 December

Time: 2:00 – 3:00 PM
Title: Pathways to a Sustainable Earth: Unlocking Solutions through Transformational Science
Location: UN Climate Change Global Innovation Hub, Blue Zone
Speakers: Wendy Broadgate – Future Earth; Sandrine Dixon – Club of Rome; Joeri Roelji – Grantham Institute, Imperial College; Carlos Peres – University of East Anglia, International Champion of Frontiers Planet Prize; Dominic Waughray – WBCSD; Lars Peter Riishøjgaard – World Meteorological Organization; Fred Fenter – Frontiers

Time: 5:00 – 7:00 PM
Title: Climate and health: How can policy address health impacts of climate change, health and air pollution?
Location: Health Pavilion (Green Zone)
Speakers: Kris Ebi, Montira Pongsiri (Health KAN)

Sunday 3 December

Time: 8:30 – 10:00 AM
Title: Just Transition: Perspectives from the Global South
Location: Ritz Carlton
Speaker: Speaker: Samiya Selim (IMBeR)

Time: 10:30 AM
Title: Effecting a paradigm shift—what will it take for global health to integrate a climate lens?
Location: Philippines Pavilion
Speakers: Kris Ebi (Health KAN)

Time: 2:00 – 3:30 PM
Title: Exploring Cooperation Models for Climate Response in Asia
Location: Main Auditorium, Greening Education Hub
Speaker: Joon Kim (Korean National Committee)

Time: 3:45 – 5:00 PM
Title: Challenges of Climate Finance and Climate Technology and Cooperation in Asia
Location: Main Auditorium, Greening Education Hub
Speaker: Joon Kim (Korean National Committee)

Time: 4:30 – 5:00 PM
Title: 10 Insights in Climate Science 2023/2024 Global Launch
Location: UNFCCC Press conference Room 1, Zone B8, Blue Zone
Speakers: Wendy Broadgate, Simon Stiell, Johan Rockström, Aditi Mukherji, David Obura, Oliver Geden, Ploy Achakulwisit

Monday 4 December

Time: 2:30 – 3:30 PM
Title: 10 New Insights in Climate Science Panel Discussion
Location: Arizona State University Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory Pavilion, Blue Zone. The physical address of the Pavilion is Thematic Arena 1 – Ground Floor pavilion number TA1-135
Stream it live
Speakers: Peter Schlosser Vice President and Vice Provost of Global Futures at Arizona State University & Co-chair of The Earth League; Johan Rockström Director of Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research & Co-chair of The Earth League; Sandrine Dixson-Declève President, The Club of Rome; Laura Pereira University of the Witwatersrand & Stockholm University; Carlos Nobre Institute for Advanced Studies at University of São Paulo

Time: 5:00 – 6:30 PM
Title: Scaling Durable Carbon Removals: Mapping global Opportunities and Obligations
Location: Finland Pavilion
Speaker: Steve Smith (GCP)

Tuesday 5 December

Time: 10:00 – 10:30 AM
Title: Global Carbon Budget 2023 Release and Press Conference. More information will be available on their website.
Location: Action Arena 1, Global Climate Action Area in the Blue Zone
Speakers: Pierre Friedlingstein, Corinne Le Quéré, Julia Pongratz, Mike O’Sullivan, Glen Peters, Philippe
Ciais.

Time: 12:00 – 12:45 PM
Title: Collapsing Time and Space: technology and climate smart disaster response
Location: Mubadala Pavilion (Green zone)
Speaker: Samiya Selim (IMBeR)

Time 2:00 – 3:30 PM
Title: Planetary health as a policy frame to de-silo and wire our world for wellbeing
Location: Malaysia Pavilion

Wednesday 6 December

Time: 2:45 – 4:15 PM
Title: CDR to reach net zero and return from overshoot: knowledge gaps and research priorities
Location: IPCC/WMO Pavilion
Speaker: Steve Smith (GCP)

Time: 3:00 – 4:30 PM
Title: IPCC event on Carbon Dioxide Removal
Location: IPCC Pavilion

Time: 4:00 – 4:30 PM
Title: Faith-based engagement at COP28. What is the role of religions in climate change and how are attitudes towards climate shaped by religious affiliation? How can we understand pilgrimages as climate activism? And why is the climate crisis a spiritual issue?
Location: Karlstad University and via zoom.
Speaker: Avit Bhowmik (AIMES) will give a live report from COP28 in his capacity as a climate scientist.

Time: 4:45 – 6:00 PM
Title: Data, Digital Tools, Research, Education & Gamification for All of Society ClimateAction Empowerment
Location: SE Room 9
Speaker: Avit Bhomwik (AIMES)

Time: 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Title: The Role of Sea Ice Biogeochemistry and Ice-associated Ecosystems in the Earth System
Location: Cryosphere Pavilion

Time: 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Title: What does ‘Net Zero emissions’ need to mean to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement?
Location: SE Room 4

Friday 8 December

Time: 10:00 – 11:00 AM
Title: National Capacity in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) for Accelerated Climate Action
Location: CB Hub
Speaker: Samiya Selim (IMBeR)

Time: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Title: Antarctic and Southern Ocean Ecosystems Under Severe Threat from Climate Change
Location: Cryosphere Pavilion
Speaker: Letizia Tedesco

Time: 12:00 – 1:00 PM
Title: 10 New Insights in Climate Science deep dive dialogue
Location: Resilience Pavilion and online. Register.
Speakers: Minister Zakia Khattabi, Minister of Climate, the Environment, Sustainable Development and Green Deal, EU parliament; Prof. Naoko Ishii, Executive vice president, University of Tokyo and Director for the Center for Global Commons; Dr. Oliver Geden, IPCC WG III Vice-Chair, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Berlin, Germany; Dr. Laura Pereira, Associate Professor, Global Change Institute, University of the Witwatersrand (edited) 

Time: 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Title: Science for action. Workshop & Reception
Location: German Pavilion
Speaker: Julia Pongratz (GCP, AIMES)

Saturday 9 December

Time: 1:30 – 3:00 PM
Title: Mainstreaming Climate Action
Location: Bangladesh Pavilion
Speaker: Samiya Selim (IMBeR)

Time: 2:00 – 4:00 PM
Title: Carbon capture, storage, and strive for best practices in achieving common standards
Location: Finland Pavilion
Speaker: Hanna Lappalainen (Finland National Committee)

Time: 4:45 – 6:00 PM
Title: Climate Adaptation and Resilience
Location: SE Room 5 and online
Speaker: Wenjie Dong, Director, Future Earth China Hub; Panmao Zhai, Professor, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Science; Tong Jiang, Professor, Nanjing University of lnformation Science and Technology; Wenxia Zhang, Associate Professor, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Jing Wei, Associate Professor, Sun Yat-sen University; Shuli Niu, Professor, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Qianggong Zhang, Professor, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Wednesday 13 December

Time: 2:00 – 3:30 PM JST
Title: 10 New Insights in Climate Science Japan Launch (Japanese)
Location: Online via Zoom
Find more information, including speakers here.

Thursday 14 December

Time: 9:00 – 10:45 AM EST
Title: 10 New Insights in Climate Science Canada Launch (French)
Location: Online via Zoom
Find more information including speakers here.