Apart from the Paris Agreement, there is also a pending review of the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty which was adopted as the first addition to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) back in 1995. The treaty was aimed to reduce the emission of gases that contribute to global warming by introducing a system of tradable emission rights.

As for the 28th annual meeting, the UN is in preparation for its first global stocktake. As referred to on the UN’s official portal, it is “a critical turning point when it comes to efforts to address climate change.” It is hoped that a new plan to tackle the climate crisis through collective efforts of countries will emerge, allowing a road map towards the global phase out of coal, oil and natural gas.

In the case of COP28, the first controversy came when Sultan Al-Jaber was appointed as the president of the summit. The nomination sparked outrage in civil society groups and environmental campaigners, who largely regarded it a folly on the part of the UN to appoint an oil magnate as a head of a conference for action against climate change. 

Recent reports only added fuel to the flame – as when the Guardian revealed an orchestrated campaign utilising Twitter bot accounts to advocate in support of Mr Jabber.