Promoting Human Rights in Climate Action: Report from the Dubai Climate Conference (COP28)

The report argues that COP28 failed to uphold human rights and was subject to corporate capture, resulting in insufficient outcomes on fossil fuel phaseouts and the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund.

• The environment of COP28 was characterized by restricted civic space and corporate capture, with the host nation, the United Arab Emirates, imposing restrictions on free speech and assembly while allowing over 2,000 fossil fuel lobbyists to participate freely.
• The Global Stocktake (GST) decision is criticized for lacking a firm commitment to a full fossil fuel phaseout, instead using the phrase "transition away from fossil fuels" and promoting unproven technologies like carbon capture and storage (CCS).
• The operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund (LDF) is viewed as flawed due to its temporary hosting by the World Bank, the voluntary nature of contributions, and the absence of an independent grievance mechanism.
• The LDF's governing instrument is noted for lacking explicit references to human rights and for excluding non-party seats, such as representatives for Indigenous Peoples and climate migrants, from its Board.
• Negotiations on carbon markets under Article 6.2 and 6.4 remained unresolved at COP28, which the report describes as a positive outcome that avoided the adoption of weak rules that could have led to land grabs and other human rights violations.
• The Just Transition work programme (JTWP) was adopted and is significant for being the first COP decision to explicitly recognize the importance of labor rights in climate action, though it is criticized for using generic human rights language.
• The report emphasizes that integrating human rights into climate policy, as noted in the technical phase of the GST, leads to more ambitious and sustainable outcomes.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2024). Promoting Human Rights in Climate Action: Report from the Dubai Climate Conference (COP28). https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Promoting-Human-Rights-in-Climate-Action-Report-from-COP28.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Promoting Human Rights in Climate Action: Report from the Dubai Climate Conference (COP28). 2024. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Promoting-Human-Rights-in-Climate-Action-Report-from-COP28.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Promoting Human Rights in Climate Action: Report from the Dubai Climate Conference (COP28) |date=2024 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Promoting-Human-Rights-in-Climate-Action-Report-from-COP28.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2024promoting, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Promoting Human Rights in Climate Action: Report from the Dubai Climate Conference (COP28)}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2024}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Promoting-Human-Rights-in-Climate-Action-Report-from-COP28.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }