Entering the first week of COP28, there has been quite a lot of buzz about the matters at hand and further need of action

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Why this is useful for you: Current developments on climate goals are essential for you to understand and take stock. Many corporations and individuals, normally lack information on the progress and timeline or just aren’t motivated enough to care.

COP28 marks an important year to stake stock on what’s happening to climate goals and developments. Hence, here are the 5 key takeaways for the first week of it.

Projected temperature increase is now at 2.5 C to 2.9 C against the target of 1.5 C

To the world’s credit, the expected increase in global temperatures has been reduced to a range of 2.5 C and 2.9 C, compared to the past estimate of 4.0 C. Current efforts are not enough to bring this number down to the target of 1.5 C. Much more effort needs to go into investing in renewable energy and phasing out fossil fuels.

US$4.3 trillion is needed yearly for clean energy for net zero emissions by 2050.

Then, there’s the matter of funding. About US$4.3 trillion is needed yearly for clean energy investments to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Based on data by IEA, global clean energy investment is estimated at US$1.7 trillion in 2023. This implies a shortfall of 60%.

116 countries pledged to triple renewable energy by 2030.

Not all is bad. 116 countries pledged to triple renewable energy production from 2.3 TW to 11 TW by 2030 (S&P), which probably requires three times the investment. This is in line with the 60% shortfall in investments mentioned previously. S&P did say that this goal is very ambitious as they only project a doubling as the best-case scenario. Time will tell.

Lack of financing for developing countries to reach net zero goals.

Remember in the previous article, there were gaps between many countries. This is the case here. Global climate funding is small at only US$803 billion in 2019 and 2020 for developing countries, where they represent only 30% of their required annual investment needed to keep temperature increase at 1.5 C.

The commitment of US$30 billion by the UAE for green energy investments.

The UAE has launched a US$30 billion green energy fund, together with BlackRock, TPG, and Brookfield (ESGToday), called ALTERRA. It aims to raise US$250 billion by 2030 to fund investments in the global south.

Take heed of these 5 key takeaways from COP28. If you are a corporation, know that countries are investing in clean energy.