The 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP 28, is set to begin later this week in Dubai, in a region at the epicenter of the renewed conflict between Israel and Hamas. Though host country United Arab Emirates says it is laser-focused on climate, activists and delegates are concerned that the war could potentially derail discussions around climate change, and have climate and environmental impacts.
“It's increasingly frustrating,” Racquel Moses, U.N. global climate ambassador for the Caribbean and CEO of the Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator, told Devex. “We're all fighting about the pieces on the table when the table itself is at stake.”
Israel and Hamas held a four-day humanitarian pause in fighting and hostage release exchange starting last Friday, seven weeks after 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, and in which at least 15,000 people in the Gaza Strip have been killed by Israel’s siege of the territory. But the agreement was temporary, and though it has been extended for two more days, it is unclear what will happen after it expires.