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Glasgow’s COP26 conference served to bring the issue of the climate crisis back into public consciousness, as activists in Scotland and around the world agitated for meaningful legislative change to secure the future of our planet. Conferences in service of growing ecological efforts are not limited to COP, and 2022 is set to be full of pan-global events to tackle the issue both locally and internationally. Here are five key climate conferences in 2022, and what they seek to undertake.
LDC5, Doha
The 5th UN Conference on Least Developed Countries, or LDC5, is the latest iteration of the decennial conference, and due to take place in Qatar at the start of the year. LDCs represent a significant portion of the world’s population, and an even more significant percentage of the world’s impoverished – 13% and 40% respectively – making this conference a key way engage poorer countries in conversation about the global effects of the climate crisis, the otherwise costly climate-saving endeavours they can embark on to do their part, and mitigating the disproportionate ways in which climate change affects their agricultural economies.
Middle East and North Africa Climate Week 2022, Dubai
MENA Climate Week 2022 is the first of a new annual initiative, designed to encourage adoption of climate-conscious thinking and methodologies by industry, institutions and communities alike. Dubai is the first city to host the week, which will bring stakeholders and government bodies together to explore climate action in the region, address ESG strategy with regard to new and existing businesses, and fund sustainable economic programmes that promote green industry and initiative throughout the region.
World Urban Forum 11, Katowice
The World Urban Forum is a biennial forum, kickstarted by the UN in 2001 to address growing global urbanisation efforts and how they affect the world around us. The 11th is the first to be held in Eastern Europe, and will run on the theme ‘Transforming Our Cities for a Better Urban Future’. The agenda covers a wide range of issues, and the coronavirus pandemic and urban readiness for future pandemics in particular, but wider conversations about greening increasingly developed land will be taking place.
UN Ocean Conference, Lisbon
The UN Ocean Conference, slated for the end of June, is to be joint-hosted by the Portuguese and Kenyan governments in Lisbon. The conference seeks to focus on economical and ecological efforts to preserve the delicate and complex ocean systems which harbour a significant proportion of life on Earth, and could spell disastrous consequences for our weather cycles. Ocean acidification and marine litter are high on the agenda for conversation, as are contentious fishing practices and the under-regulated over-fishing of crucial habitats.
COP27, Sharm El-Sheikh
The UN Climate Change Conference 2022, or COP27, is perhaps the single most important climate conference in the calendar, bringing 197 of the Earth’s nations together for two weeks of conversation, deliberation and commitment to legislation regarding the climate emergency. COP26 saw all nations commit to a 1.5 degree global warming cap. COP27 seeks to build on the recommendations of COP26, and will see countries make further commitments with regard to internal climate initiatives and global collaboration.
