The upcoming United Nations (UN) climate conference in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), known as COP28, appears likely to have a larger carbon footprint than any previous UN climate change summit.
More than 70,000 people are expected to show up to COP28, about 25,000 more people than last year’s summit, COP27. The conference, which runs from Nov. 30 through Dec. 12, will focus on global strategies to reduce emissions and accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels in favor of green energy.
About 40,000 people attended COP26 in 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. About 45,000 people attended the 2015 summit in Paris, France, where the Paris Climate Accords were signed. (RELATED: Dem Donor Runs PR Firm Hired To Spin Bad Press For Gulf State Ahead Of UN Climate Conference, Records Show)
CHART OF THE DAY: A **forecast** that blew my mind. More than 70,000 people are **expected** to show up at #COP28 in Dubai.
If confirmed (note **if**), that’s double the previous record, and shows COP is now a business on its own, as much as a climate change conference. pic.twitter.com/7sCqHapmHd
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) November 24, 2023
Conference attendees have drawn scrutiny in previous years for traveling to and from the event in private jets while lecturing on the importance of reducing emissions. Notably, a luxury concierge service has been offering to arrange private jet charters ahead of this year’s conference.
In addition to flying in and out of the UAE, many attendees will also stay in high-end hotels and have access to “environmentally sustainable, socially responsible, delicious and nutritious food and beverage,” according to COP28’s website.
One of the key issues to be discussed at COP28 is the shape of a so-called “loss and damages” fund, a de facto international climate reparations program. Special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry recently suggested that the U.S. will pay “millions” into the fund, a number that many activists and representatives of poorer countries find to be inadequate. China is unlikely to have any significant obligations to the fund because it is classified as a developing country, despite its status as the world’s top emitter and second-largest economy.
“With John Kerry and Joe Biden promising billions in U.S. taxpayer money and beefing up the treasuries of non-governmental organizations with tens of billions of dollars in 2024 get-out-the-vote activist money, this year’s climate gong show was bound to attract record numbers of camp-followers, celebrities, kleptocrats and other misfits,” Dan Kish, senior fellow for the Institute for Energy Research said. “It’s as though they’re ringing the dinner bell which always attracts people looking for a free lunch.”
Representatives for the U.N. did not respond immediately to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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