CLIMATE ACTION
THE
INSIDE STORY
The journey from consensus to collective action is long and winding. Human relations play a crucial role in smoothing the path, says our author, the former UAE Chief Climate Change Negotiator at COP28 By Hana AlHashimi, OPEC Fund
T he climate process has demonstrated that multilateralism can work through landmark achievements such as the Paris Agreement in 2015 (COP21), the UAE Consensus (COP28) and the Baku Climate Unity Pact (COP29). This journey will continue in November at COP30 in Brazil, reflecting a global commitment to collective action. Still, developing countries stand at the crossroads of a complex global geopolitical landscape, economic challenges, mounting debt and increasingly severe climate crises. As we pass the two-thirds mark of the Sustainable Development Goals timeline and fall ever further behind
in meeting our targets, there is a clear need for global leadership, unity and determination to achieve the future we want. My experience as a negotiator has shown me that behind every plenary session and late-night negotiation, there is a human story of determination by people for people. It’s a story of shared purpose, difficult compromises and a stubborn optimism that, together, we can build a better future.
Hana AlHashimi was the UAE Chief Climate Change Negotiator at COP28
Photo: OPEC Fund
“At 10:00 pm on the penultimate evening, the COP President announced that he and his team had no intention of sleeping until we had jointly found a way forward...”
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