Giant Cop28 in UAE will have the biggest carbon footprint of any climate summit

Sultan Al Jaber, President of Cop28, speaks at the opening of the summit. Photo: Peter DeJong/AP

Cop28 will have the biggest carbon footprint in the history of the annual climate summit as the UAE invited a record number of people, experts say.

At least 400,000 people are expected to come to Dubai for the two-week event, which organizers say is the largest attendance ever.

This includes 97,000 official delegates, which is more than double the amount of Cop26 in Glasgow, the previous largest summit.

The Glasgow summit resulted in emissions equivalent to the annual carbon footprint of approximately 8,000 UK residents, most of which resulted from transport to the conference.

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Richard Black, senior fellow at green think tank ECIU, said: «Given the number of people expected here, yes, it is likely to have the highest carbon footprint of any police force to date.»

John Kerry, the US special envoy for climate change, rides in a buggy before the summit. Photo: AP

He added that the size of this footprint is «absolutely dwarfed by the emissions reductions the deal could deliver» and puts pressure on the UAE to deliver a good result.

«So the ball is really in the UAE's lap — they have chosen to host the biggest police officer in history, now they need to make sure he has the biggest impact of any police officer in history.»

Attendance has grown steadily in recent years.

Attendance at the annual summit has grown steadily in recent years, especially as attendance has grown corporations and non-governmental organizations.

Chris Stark, chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change, recently told The Telegraph that the conference was «too big» and had become more like a trade fair.

The King represents representatives of the Amazon climate at the Commonwealth and Nature reception during Cop28. Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

This year's participants include Rishi Sunak, the King, David Cameron and US envoy John Kerry, who will travel by private jet.< /p>

A Cop28 spokesman said: “Everyone is welcome at Cop28 because everyone is needed to take action on climate change.”

The UAE promised to offset emissions from the event 

The UAE promised to offset emissions from the event but did not provide details how exactly this will be done before the summit ends. There is widespread skepticism about the cost of carbon offsets.

A company owned by a member of the Dubai royal family recently signed a controversial deal to lease parts of Africa equivalent in size to the UK to compensate for forest use. , one of the most controversial methods of emissions compensation.

The conference will last until December 12. Photo: ALI HAIDER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

A series of deals between Blue Carbon, a company run by Emirati Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum, will lease around 25 million hectares of land in Liberia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Zambia. According to recent reports, the company plans to sell a number of carbon credits to the UAE itself.

A COP28 spokesperson said: “COP28 will demonstrate its sustainability ambitions by hosting an event focused on carbon emissions and sustainable development. We have adopted a strategy of avoid, reduce and replace and will offset residual emissions with highly reliable carbon credits.»