In the first two weeks of December, 2023, 200 parties from around the world came together in Dubai for the United Nations Climate Change Conference. The conference had a clear conclusion known as the Global Stocktake. The Global Stocktake calls on nations to take action in drastically increasing renewable energy usage and phasing out inefficient fossil fuels. The goal is to begin the transition away from fossil fuels, which are now officially acknowledged as the leading cause of the climate crisis. The stocktake recognizes that global greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced by 43% by 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Furthermore, it acknowledges that the parties are not on track to achieve their goals from the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Global Stocktake will now be used by countries to develop stronger climate action plans by 2025.

Highlighted in the Global Stocktake, a lot of financial support is needed to support developing countries with their clean energy transitions. The Green Climate Fund received a boost from six countries’ pledges at the conference, now totaling 12.8 billion USD from 31 countries. In addition, after eight donations at the conference to the Least Developed Countries Fund and Special Climate Change Fund, the fund now contains 174 million USD. However, the financial pledges will need to grow into the trillions to successfully help developing countries with clean energy.