Making COP28 rhetoric a reality

The outcomes of the 28th Conference of the Parties UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in December, 2023, have been welcomed by some commentators,notably for the launch of the Loss and Damage Fund, the first Health Day, the Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action, and the first inclusion of fossil fuels in the official negotiations.1 Other commentators have argued that these steps, while important, are insufficient to tackle the climate crisis taking us beyond the 1·5ºC global temperature commitment of the Paris Agreement.1,2 Such critiques are instructive, but it is now crucial to focus on pathways forward to ensure that the promises made at COP28 become reality. We propose that to operationalise such promises, and in ways that advance planetary health equity, there is an urgent need for national regulations and international treaties centred on mitigation.