Who’s who in the tense climate fray at COP28

But the topics under negotiation are transversal and do not follow geographical or economic criteria: mitigation, adaptation, financing, losses and damages, among others.

Countries with “special responsibilities” can join a negotiating bloc alongside a developing country.

Some negotiating blocs are a legacy Of the past (G77), but other countries have been created for climate negotiations.

Many countries, especially among developing countries, are part of several groups simultaneously.

Within the UN system, Conferences of the Parties are long (13 days scheduled to take place at COP28 in Dubai, from 30 November to 12 December, with the possibility of extension) and alliances between blocs and individual countries are created and dissolved depending on the proposals presented, as well as obstacles.

It is rarely a united front

“For a long time there was the impression that the climate negotiations were somehow fortified (…) as if they were so important that they would be immune from the current frictions. This is no longer the case,” the scientist said. François Gemin, politician François, member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).