This year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) has begun in Dubai.
Depending on whom you ask, the outlook ranges from deeply pessimistic to cautiously optimistic. But there is one thing on which almost everyone agrees: Effective climate action is more urgent than ever.
This shared sense of urgency at COP28 is crucial. Some 70,000 delegates — including representatives of all parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and a range of other stakeholders, from business leaders to climate scientists — are expected to participate. Such a vast and varied group might be unwieldy, but broad engagement — which has been on the rise in recent years — is vital to progress. Committed global action at every level of government, the economy and society is needed to tackle such a complex, multifaceted challenge and a growing awareness that time is running out should help to foster it.