COP 28: Taking stock and looking forward in Dubai

December 1, 2023

COP 28 UAE is framed as a milestone moment for the planet when the global community will take stock of its progress on the implementation of the landmark Paris Agreement. Signed at the 2015 COP 21 meeting in France, this legally binding international treaty lists among its aims the overarching goal of holding the increase in global average temperature “to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels”. This year’s event in Dubai will see the conclusion of the first-ever Global Stocktake — a report card on the progress the world has made on the Paris Accords.

From Canada to Dubai

Skepticism of the conference host’s intentions, of multilateralism, and of the ability for such an event to truly marshal the global action we need continues. But as one of Canada’s leading environment and economy think tanks, we at the Smart Prosperity Institute (SPI) take great interest in the promise and potential of COP meetings. We remain realistic regarding conference outcomes and optimistic about humanity’s ability to build a stronger, cleaner economy that thrives within nature’s limits. 

We’re also grateful to be a part of the COP 28 conversations on the ground, with SPI Senior Fellow Barb Swartzentruber in attendance to introduce to a global audience the Canadian Alliance for Net-Zero Agri-Food (CANZA) — an initiative of the Smart Prosperity Institute and the Natural Step Canada. We look forward to sharing key dispatches from her adventures in a future post. You can also follow her on the ground via her LinkedIn updates.

Agri-food to zero-emissions vehicles

Much of our work at SPI, be it advancing conservation finance, furthering sustainable agriculture, exploring the material needs of decarbonization, or illuminating the climate change-housing nexus has strong ties to the central themes being unpacked at COP 28. As the event gets underway, we invite you to explore our most recent content sorted by daily conference theme to give you our research-driven, objective Canadian perspective on the event’s critical climate discussions. 

Dec. 3: Health/relief, recovery and peace

• Report: The nature of health: integrating health considerations in urban nature-based solutions
• Report: A green and healthy recovery
• Report: Supporting a greener well-being
• Report: The Health Co-Benefits of a Clean Growth Future
• Report: The Benefits of Cleaner Air

Dec 4: Finance/trade/gender equality/accountability

• Report: Climate Data Requirements, Gaps, and Challenges to Support Climate-Related Financial Disclosures
• Policy Brief: Leveraging Competition Law and Policy to Promote Inclusive Growth in Canada
• Report: Exploring Canada’s Circular Export Potential
• Report: Shed Light, Build Resilience
• Report: Building Climate Resilience in Canada's Pension Funds
• Report: Canadian Pensions Dashboard for Responsible Investing

Dec 5: Energy, industry, and just transition

• Report: Canada's Future in a Net-Zero World
• Report: Primary Materials in the Emerging Circular Economy
• Report: Buying Better: Leveraging federal procurement to drive demand for Canadian cleantech
• Policy Brief: Renewal and Reinvention of Alberta’s Hydrocarbon Cluster
• Report: Circularity Across the Mining and Metals Value Chain
• Policy Brief + Working Paper Series: Solar and Wind Energy in Canada
• Policy Brief: Designing a Marketplace Framework for Future-Fit Hydrocarbons

Dec 6: Multilevel action, urbanization and built environment/transport

• Report: Less is More: Where We Build 5.8 Million Homes Matters
• Report: EnerGuide Labeling of Homes at the Time of Sale

Dec 8: Youth, children, education and skills

• Report: Adapting Canada's Workforce
• Report: Jobs and skills in the transition to a net-zero economy: A foresight exercise
• Report: Ready for Green Jobs

Dec 9: Nature, land use, and oceans

• Report Series: Inuit-led Economic Development: An Overview of Nunavut’s Blue Conservation Economy
• Report: Investing in the Future of Ontario's Greenbelt: a conservation finance blueprint for Southern Ontario
• Report: Extending the Funding Canopy
• Working Paper: Avoiding Leakage from Nature-Based Offsets by Design
• Policy Brief: Protecting Northern Peatlands: A vital cost-effective approach to curbing Canada’s climate impact

Dec 10: Food, agriculture and water

• Report: Clean Growth in Canada’s Agriculture and Agri-food Sector
• Report: Carbon Offsets for Farmers
• Report: A Circular Agriculture and Agri-food Economy for Canada

This is just a small selection of our more recent releases that relate to the major themes of the COP 28 conference. For a full breakdown of our work, explore our Research + Publications Library. We’ll eagerly monitor key developments from Dubai to see how they may impact our environment-economy work here in Canada. As always, we invite you to reach out if you wish to connect on environment-economy matters and encourage you to stay up-to-date with our latest work by signing up for our monthly newsletter.