[Source: Fiji Government/ Facebook]

Negotiations at the COP28 in Dubai following the completion of the first seven days of discussions have seen progress in procedural outcomes and agreements on various issues.

Most notable of the progress made was the matter of loss and damage which was adopted on the first day of the COP.

Fiji’s Chief Negotiator at the COP28, Ambassador Amena Yauvoli says there has been significant headway in securing pledges for the fund, which has now reached approximately US$726 million.

Yauvoli says significant progress has also been made in the area of the global stocktake, especially for the small and developing state.

He adds discussions have been ongoing about cost corrections to achieve the long-term global temperature goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

“We are grateful for the pledges that has come in. It’s about $83 billion now. This is total pledges, including climate finance pledges. And we are grateful that this cop 28 presidency is really strong in terms of the role of mobilizing climate finance to assist developing countries like Fiji secure its equal portion of funding to build resilience for our vulnerable communities.”

Another crucial area of progress, he says is the global goal for adaptation, acknowledging the importance of providing benchmarks for developing countries in terms of adaptation.

“We’ve seen some movement, but again, this is an area also that will need to be taken up seriously in the coming weeks. Oceans is another area that we as Fiji and also Pacific island countries is very critical for us to ensure that the ocean issues are well embedded in the cop agreements, and we are working hard to ensure that COP 28 have some realization of this goal.”

As the second week of negotiations commences, activities are anticipated to intensify.