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The 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) took place in December 2023 in a country with closed civic space and a track record of human rights violations and was presided over by an oil executive. This context further undermined the credibility of the UNFCCC process, already strained because of its demonstrated inability — under the current procedural rules and institutional structure — to realize the ultimate objective of the Convention. While touted by many as “historic,” the COP28 outcomes on fossil fuels and the Loss and Damage Fund are insufficient and flawed.

Our briefing note, “Promoting Human Rights in Climate Action: Report from the Dubai Climate Conference (COP28),” summarizes and analyzes key developments at COP28 related to the integration of human rights in climate policies. Through this narrow but important lens, the report focuses on civic space, the Global Stocktake and fossil fuels, the Loss and Damage Fund, carbon markets, and the Just Transition work programme.