Lord Nicholas Stern, chair of the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics, and the author of the influential Stern report on climate finance, has commented on the outcome of Cop28:
The results of the global stocktake show clearly that the world is badly off track in the task of realising the goals of the Paris agreement. Failure to achieve the Paris agreement would leave the world in a very dangerous state.
The agreement achieved today is historic and of real value. The decision on the global stocktake explicitly recognises, for the first time in the outcome of a United Nations climate change summit, that the world needs to transition away from all fossil fuels, and towards cleaner alternatives, particularly renewables. It is clear that this transition must be worldwide, at scale, and urgent. While the text of the decision may not be as strong as some have hoped, it is clear that this transition must be powerful and urgent to achieve net zero emissions of greenhouse gases globally by 2050.
Countries must now respond to the outcome of Cop28 through a huge increase in investment in zero-emissions and climate-resilient economic development and growth, particularly in developing countries. The text of the Global Stocktake decision rightly stresses the need to mobilise trillions of dollars in investment to accelerate cuts in greenhouse gases, strengthen adaptation and resilience, and respond to loss and damage.
The goals of the Paris Agreement will not be realised without a major and rapid increase in investment, particularly in emerging market and developing countries….