A joint statement issued by both parties highlighted the importance of inclusivity, transparency and respect LONDON: The COP28 presidency and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change officially signed the host country agreement during a meeting in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported. The agreement, signed by the UAE’s Sultan Al-Jaber and UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, outlines the necessary legal basis for this year’s UN climate summit, known as COP28. The legal basis includes allowing an area for climate activists to assemble. “In line with UNFCCC guidelines and adherence to international human rights norms and principles, there will be space available for climate activists to assemble peacefully and make their voices heard,” the WAM statement said. A joint statement issued by Al-Jaber and Stiell highlighted the importance of inclusivity, transparency and respect. “The COP28 plan of action is centered on four key pillars: fast-tracking the energy transition; fixing climate finance; focusing on people, lives and livelihoods; and underpinning everything with full inclusivity,” Al-Jaber said. “The COP28 presidency believes inclusivity is a critical enabler to achieving transformative progress across the climate agenda; only by rising above our differences and working together can we raise our shared ambition and deliver progress to keep 1.5°C within reach,” he said. Stiell reaffirmed the UNFCCC’s dedication to upholding UN values at COP conferences and ensuring the voices of those most impacted by climate change are heard and represented in leadership roles. “As custodians of the process, the secretariat is dedicated to supporting the parties implement their climate commitments, including under the Paris Agreement,” he said. “To drive climate action and ambition forward, we are firmly committed to ensuring that UN values are upheld at COPs. “We are also making every effort on our part to ensure that this will be a COP process where the voices of youth, women, local communities, indigenous peoples, and those most impacted by climate change will be heard and reflected within the process,” he said.