According to Prime Minister Kallas, the most important goal of the climate conference this year is to make an interim review of the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement, which was concluded in 2015. “We need very specific steps to achieve the targets set to decelerate climate change. Interim reviews help us stay on course. The ambitions of Estonia and the entire European Union to reduce carbon emissions and increase the pace of developing and implementing green technologies remain high. It is important for other countries in the world to act in a similar manner,” said Kallas. Other topics of discussion include agreeing on a climate change mitigation plan and discussing the issues of funding adaptation with climate change. Estonia and other European Union Member States will go to the climate negotiations with shared opinions, which were agreed on at the EU Environmental Council on 16 November 2023.
This year, Estonia will have its own pavilion at COP for the first time, which will be opened by Prime Minister Kallas. “Dealing with climate change isn’t easy, but we must also see the opportunities. Small countries play the role of a provider of solutions in climate neutrality and the green transition. This is the main message that we wish to convey by introducing Estonia and our digital and green companies in our pavilion,” said Kallas.
The background:
In addition to the Prime Minister, the Estonian delegation includes representatives of the Ministry of Climate, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, and the Ministry of Finance. As it is extremely important to involve young people in the shaping of the climate policy, a youth climate delegate will also take part in COP28. The Estonian companies represented at COP28 include 1MTN, Auve Tech, Beast, Fibenol, KappaZeta, KWOTA, Nortal, R8 Technologies, Ragn-Sells, Rail Baltica Estonia, Zero Terrain, Timbeter, and Utilitas. The University of Tartu, the Estonian University of Life Sciences, and Tallinn University are also represented. The city of Tallinn, Let’s Do It World, Impact Day, and the Centre of Estonian Rural Research and Knowledge are also part of the delegation. Further information about the Estonian pavilion can be found here: https://estonia.ee/estonia-at-cop28/
The Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will be held in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December 2023. The conference will be held for the 28th time, which is why it is referred to as COP28. COP will involve climate negotiations, assessing the process of dealing with climate change, and taking new decisions for decelerating the pace of the increase in global temperature and for controlling climate change. For this purpose, it is attempted to bring all target groups and stakeholders, the public and private sectors to the conference. One of the best-known conferences was the COP in Paris in 2015, where the Paris Climate agreement was born with the aim of bringing the global warming under 2 °C and continue with the efforts which would keep the global warming at the level of 1.5 °C. All the important players leading the way in the development of the field of climate and the environment, as well as the relevant national policies, will be represented: national delegations, international organisations and associations, stakeholders, observers, large and small businesses.
