Dozens of world leaders gathered on Friday, December 1, at the COP28 climate conference being held in Expo City Dubai, to engage in crucial discussions on how to address the challenges of our overheating planet.
These heads of state attended COP28’s World Climate Action Summit, which is intended to provide momentum and guidance to the remainder of the COP and featured sector-specific segments with diverse representation alongside leader-level statements.
Among the notable figures present at the event were UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, His Majesty King Charles III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil.
Moreover, King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, President Isaac Herzog of Israel, President William Ruto of Kenya, President Emmanuel Macron of France, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey were also seen participating in the COP28 activities.
Two of the world’s most powerful men, President Joe Biden of the U.S. and President Xi Jinping of China, both skipped the UN climate summit. President Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos Jr., initially planned to visit Dubai for the conference, cancelled his flight at the last minute on November 30.
Most leaders who engaged in talks during the conference represent countries that are hard hit by floods, storms, drought and heat waves worsened by climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas. COP28 served as a platform to dive deeper and present concrete solutions to each nation’s fight against climate change.
