École polytechnique at COP28 in Dubai

École Polytechnique took part in the twenty-eighth Conference of the Parties (COP 28) on climate change under its observer status as a Research and independent non-governmental organizations (RINGO).

École Polytechnique is represented by a delegation led by Patricia Crifo, Professor at the École Polytechnique and Deputy Director of the Energy4Climate Interdisciplinary Center (E4C) of the Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris), of which the École Polytechnique is a founding member.

The delegation included students from École Polytechnique enrolled in the COP28 climate course - Master of Science & Technology in Economics for Smart Cities and Climate Policy - as well as doctoral students from IP Paris conducting research on the subject of climate change.

Thanks to their observer status, RINGOs can be invited to be part of the audience at certain debates and negotiations, and to attend or even take part in events organized by official delegations.

Hosted by the United Arab Emirates from November 30 to December 12 in Dubai, COP 28 was set to draw up the first global assessment of the commitments made by States in Paris in 2015 at COP 21, which aimed to keep "the increase in global average temperature well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels" and to continue efforts "to limit the increase in temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels."

The first day of COP 28 was marked by the adoption of the "loss and damage" fund, the principle of which had been approved in 2022 at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, in which École polytechnique was already participating. This fund will enable vulnerable countries suffering from climate damage (rising sea levels, droughts, cyclones, etc.) to access financing to repair and rebuild.

A number of advances were also expected at the end of COP 28, notably on the issues of energy transition (accelerating the phase-out of fossil fuels and adopting global targets for the deployment of non-fossil fuels and energy efficiency), adaptation to climate change and climate finance (strengthening support for developing countries and redirecting financial flows in favor of the climate).

On the same day, some twenty countries, including France, called for a tripling of the world's nuclear energy capacity by 2050, compared with 2020.

On December 2nd, France also launched the Coal Transition Accelerator (CTA) initiative to share expertise, design new policies and unlock new sources of public and private funding to facilitate a just transition from coal to clean energy.