Cop28 will have the biggest carbon footprint in the event’s history after the UAE invited a record 400,000 people to take part

Experts warn that COP28 will have the largest carbon footprint in the event’s history due to the large number of visitors arriving.

Around 400,000 people are expected to travel to Dubai for the annual UN climate change conference between 30 November and 12 December.

This includes 97,000 registered official delegates with access to the secure inner “Blue Zone” for accredited government officials and companies.

The number of registered delegates has increased from 49,704 at COP27 last year in Egypt and 38,457 in Scotland in 2021. In short, the number of participants has tripled since 2019.

The Glasgow conference set an emissions record, releasing around 102,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide – roughly what 8,000 Britons produce in a year.

But with so many people flocking to the UAE this month, some expect COP28 to build on a worrying new trend.

Richard Black, senior fellow at the green think tank Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, told The Telegraph: “Given the number of people expected, it will probably have the biggest carbon footprint yet.”

King Charles III (centre) speaks with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani (right) as they pose for a photograph during the United Nations COP28 climate summit on December 1, 2023 in Dubai

A general overview of the UNFCCC COP28 Climate Change Conference at Expo City Dubai on 1 December

Designed to help governments agree on measures to limit and manage environmental impacts, the conference has grown in popularity over the years, attracting government officials, businesses and delegates from around the world.

When the COP began in the mid-1990s, it averaged just 5,000 attendees, according to Bloomberg. This year, the entire event is expected to attract 80 times as many visitors.

READ MORE: King Charles tells world leaders ‘The earth is not ours’ and says his grandchildren will live with the effects of climate change until 2050 as he calls on countries to work together at Cop28 in Dubai to promote environmental protection

This applies to the larger Green Zone, which is open to everyone, and the inner Blue Zone, which is protected and reserved for “officials”.

In the outer Green Zone, paying organizations can show what they are doing to combat climate change and meet potential customers. The Green Zones are not officially included in the COP program, but are a regular extension.

The Blue Zone invites countries, territories and their representatives to negotiate agreements and actions on climate change. Each region has its own pavilion for exhibitions, receptions and presentations and can host several delegates.

The concern is that the COPs have expanded to such an extent that the conferences themselves may now contribute to large and unnecessary emissions spikes. In Glasgow, around 60 per cent of emissions during the summit meetings are likely to be from international flights.

The conferences also risk increasing their own carbon footprint by finding accommodation for as many delegates over the two-week period, overseeing the event and transporting people to and from venues.

Climate activists expressed outrage this week when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed he would fly to the summit in his own private plane, while Foreign Secretary David Cameron and King Charles will also fly to the summit alone.

Downing Street defended the decision after critics warned the move sent “completely the wrong signals” about Britain’s commitment to tackling climate change.

Number 10 said it was important for the UK to have a “strong participation” in the summit and said the government’s position was not “anti-fly”.

A spokesman said on Wednesday: “I think the government’s approach to tackling climate change has been set out repeatedly. It’s not about banning or restricting people from flying, it’s about investing in new technologies of the future, as yesterday’s flight showed.” the use of sustainable technologies Kerosene.

“You would naturally expect that most ministers traveling to Cop would fly commercially. The Prime Minister’s plane will use sustainable aviation fuel, with some of you flying on it too. And of course we also use CO2 compensation.”

“It is clear that the Prime Minister is using the plane that you are all used to.” But as I said, it is the Government’s position that we are not against flying. We are not trying to limit the audience. And it is important that the UK has a strong presence at Cop28 as we continue to lead the world in the fight against climate change.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (left) walks with world leaders to the World Climate Summit in Dubai during the Cop28 summit. Photo session: Friday 1 December 2023

King Charles III and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak attend the opening ceremony of the World Climate Summit during COP28 in Dubai on December 1, 2023

Leaders pose during a photo session today at the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Tory MP Graham Stuart, Minister of State for Climate, will lead the UK delegation to COP28 this year.

Stuart called on the UK to focus on “leaving, leaving” from “unabated” use of fossil fuels – as he insisted in November that there was “nothing fundamentally wrong with oil and gas”.

Britain has doubled domestic fossil fuel production in recent weeks, with annual licensing rounds for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea made mandatory last month.

Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer will take a commercial flight to COP28 this year, where he will meet “a range of leaders” and “beat the drum for Britain”.

The party faces continued criticism over alleged plans to cut its £28 billion “green prosperity plan”.

The party takes place at the end of November was accused of being “in total disarray” after it was subsequently forced to deny reports that it had effectively abandoned its flagship plan.

Tory MP Paul Bristow told The Mail last Sunday: “No wonder Sir Keir is known as Sir Flip Flop.”

“First he had a crazy plan to borrow £28 billion a year, then it was watered down, then a plan to cut even further, and then Labor said it was all right. ‘They are completely messed up.’

Even Labor MPs have expressed concern. One said: “It just gives the impression that the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.”