At the outset of COP28 in Dubai, the main question hanging over the conference was whether or not a petrostate could adequately host negotiations to fight climate change.

It didn’t take long to get an answer. Hours before the opening ceremonies, a Guardian report uncovered that Emirati leaders intended to use the conference to negotiate oil deals. Then, two days into the festivities, COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber claimed during an interview with storied climate justice leader Mary Robinson that there was “no scientific evidence” for transitioning to renewable energy, forcing Robinson to keep a straight face in front of a boldfaced lie.

In order to understand the dysfunction at the root of the COP process— whether it be in Dubai, Madrid, Katowice or Copenhagen— it is important to see the conference for exactly what it is. Or, rather, what it is not.

COP is not a climate conference; it is first and foremost a diplomatic conference.

The acronym “COP” stands for “Conference of the Parties” to the Paris Climate Accords, a diplomatic treaty negotiated in 2015 that left the details to be worked out over the following years and decades before climate change would render the Earth unrecognizable to the human species.

While the conference includes side events to present climate science, which yields results more galling by the year, the real work at COP is done behind closed doors by diplomats. They are tasked with negotiating climate finance packages and rules to international carbon markets within a two-week window to keep the world on track with its stated goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming.

Doors closed, that is, to the scientists and civil society groups who flit between pavilion presentations, happy hours and protests, but not so closed to the record number of fossil fuel lobbyists who parlay with diplomats to protect their mutual interests.

Therein lies the problem at the root of every COP negotiation. As the old (and chauvinist) saying goes: “A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman’s birthday, but never her age.”

Diplomats are well versed in saying the right things to the right people at the right time. But beneath the outward statements, a diplomat’s number one job is to pursue the cold, strategic interests of the nation they represent, however that nation defines them.

For host country United Arab Emirates, as with its fellow OPEC countries and the Global North financiers playing both sides of the energy transition, that means keeping fossil fuels alive as long as possible.

Climate change is a globally distributed problem that does not recognize borders or perceived national interests. So as long as the annual conference meant to address climate change is run by agents of national interest, then carefully-worded agreements that side-step the root causes and effects of climate change are what we should expect.

Progress Amidst the Noise

Another irony behind COP is that even if negotiations are not positioned to address climate change at the source, that doesn’t mean real progress can’t be made.

Global health is emerging as one of the most pressing climate issues, and this year featured the first Health Day at COP negotiations. That led to a breakthrough agreement by 124 countries to endorse the Declaration of Climate and Health, followed by a deal to commit $1 billion to deal with the health impacts of climate change.

The deal follows a watershed report by The Lancet in November that took a close look at the impact climate change is already having on global health, and its staggering economic consequences. The report highlighted three key areas in which climate change is aggravating health issues that the newly promised funds could address.

Tropical Disease

If you saw the opening scene of the HBO series The Last of Us, then you might have an idea of what can go wrong when pathogens adapt to a planet that is getting “slightly warmer”.

Fortunately, the Lancet report does not forecast a fungal zombie takeover, but it does find that infections of arboviruses, a term for viruses that are spread by insects such as mosquitos and ticks, are growing as a warmer planet becomes increasingly hospitable to them.

Compared to a baseline of 1951-1960, the average rate of dengue fever transmission grew in 2013-2022 by nearly 30% from both yellow fever mosquitoes and Asian tiger mosquitos.

The same was found in viruses not as well known in Northern latitudes, such as Zika or Chikungunya, an infectious disease that can cause weeks-long fever and joint pain, occasionally leading to death.

One illness that stands out is dengue fever. Dengue is not the deadliest arbovirus since there are a series of effective treatments that can minimize symptoms when treated early. Still, a 2020 study found that dengue fever infections create around $4 billion in economic losses from reduced productivity.

It’s not just viruses– certain bacteria also appear to benefit from climate impacts. Rising sea levels mean that coastal saltwater is making ever greater incursions onto land and coastal freshwater sources. Those are precisely the conditions where vibrio pathogens thrive, and their domain is expected to grow by 17-25% by mid-century.

Vibrio pathogens, including the vulnificus variety, sometimes known as the “flesh eating” virus, prompted a CDC health advisory earlier this year following serious infections in New York, North Carolina and Connecticut.

The bulk of the funding in the newly announced COP28 Health funds would be directed toward these and other diseases. Roughly $777 million of the initial $1 billion package will be spent on mitigating diseases, led by $100 million from the UAE and $100 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Economic Losses from Labor

Increased heat is also making it impossible for laborers to work across the world. The Lancet report found that heat exposure led to the loss of 490 billion potential labor hours in 2022 alone, a nearly 42% increase from 1991 to 2000.

On average, each worker in the world lost 143 potential hours of labor capacity. Over 1.3 billion workers, 39% of the global workforce, experienced losses greater than that, and 80% of these were from low or medium-income countries. If temperatures rise to 2°C, the world could see a doubling of potential labor hours lost annually compared with the 1995–2014 period.

All told, over a quarter of the world’s entire workforce did its work outdoors in 2022, meaning that the economic impact in the future could become crippling. A 2°C scenario would create an estimated 117% increase in lost work hours, which would leap to an incomprehensible 458% in a no-mitigation scenario.

Heat-Related Illness

Finally, the Lancet found that heat-related illnesses are on the rise as well, creating an opportunity for the COP28 health funds to make an immediate impact.

Annual heat-related mortality of people older than 65 years is projected to increase by 370% above 1995–2014 levels in a 2°C scenario, particularly from the increase in heatwaves and extreme droughts popping up across the world.

The COP28 funds for these impacts could be spent to address city-led efforts that have already begun under the auspices of the World Health Organization.

According to the Lancet, urban centers are home to 55% of the world’s population, and the number of cities reporting that they have completed, are in the process of conducting, or intend to conduct a climate change risk assessment within 2 years increased from 713 cities in 2021 to 848 cities in 2022.

This is one of the silver linings in the efforts to address the climate-health nexus. At the end of 2022, between 80% and 92% of surveyed cities in Oceania, Europe, and North America reported that they had completed a climate risk and vulnerability assessment. That puts them in a position to pre-empt health issues by establishing chief heat officers in cities from Miami to Freetown, Sierra Leone.

One final sticking point is a notable difference between the Lancet’s outlook and the COP28 declaration. The Lancet highlights the role of banks in continuing to fund fossil fuel projects, putting them at the focus of responsibility for climate impacts, including health. The COP28 Health declaration, meanwhile, made no mention of fossil fuels at all. 


SURVEY: What did you think of this edition of This Week in Climate? Let us know in our feedback survey here!

🌎 New Climate Jobs

Check out some of the latest featured jobs below. If you don't see anything that speaks to you, you can always go to Climatebase to explore thousands of other opportunities.

Channing St. Copper Co.

“We are a team of entrepreneurs, inventors, and activists who are committed to mitigating climate change. We know there are great technologies, like induction stoves and heat pumps, which can immediately make people's lives better, while also making a big difference on climate change. So we created Channing St. Copper Co. to get these technologies in more homes as quickly ...”

• Demonstration Marketer (Berkeley, CA, USA)

The Carbonauts

“The Carbonauts are on a mission to change the world by inspiring and educating millions of people in order to shift our culture to a sustainable one and help our species flourish in the beautiful green future that is just around the corner. We’re a great, diverse team and work with terrific clients. We love being a force for inspiration ...”

• 🌎 🧑‍🚀 Cohort Leader / Teacher / Facilitator (Remote)
• 🌎 🧑‍🚀 Multi-Hyphenate Project Manager (Remote)

WATS

“WATS is a climate tech company working to decarbonize commercial real estate with zero waste operations software. ...”

• Senior Full Stack Engineer (New York, NY, USA)

Arbor

“Arbor is a smart energy platform that helps you automatically lower your electric rate on an ongoing basis. Customers who switch save an average of $544 per year. ...”

• Lead Frontend / Full Stack Software Engineer (Remote)
• Lead Backend / Full Stack Software Engineer (Remote)

Gradient

“Gradient’s mission is to cool the world by transforming every home to be more comfortable and healthy for the people who inhabit it — without compromising the environment. Today, heating and cooling equipment emit more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire transportation sector, and expansion in the use of cooling is projected to double these emissions in the next 30 ...”

• Sr Mechanical Design Engineer (San Francisco, CA)
• Senior Firmware Engineer (San Francisco, CA )

Spoiler Alert

“Spoiler Alert is a Boston-based software company helping perishable CPG brands manage excess and slow-moving inventory. Working exclusively at the manufacturing plant or distribution center level, Spoiler Alert offers a best-in-class B2B sales platform that enables food & beverage brands to manage their liquidation processes across a private network of discount retailers and nonprofit channels - with a heavy focus ...”

• Future Opportunity at Spoiler Alert (Remote (Remote))

dashboard.earth

“Dashboard.earth is a technology start-up working to drive citizen engagement in climate change adaptation. You will be joining us at an exciting and pivotal time. We’ve just released our MVP for the city of Los Angeles and have six months of testing and partner pilots planned before our official release later this year. ...”

• Senior Fullstack Engineer (Remote)
• Lead Product Designer (Remote)
• Community Engagement/Community Manager (LA-based) (Los Angeles, CA, USA)

Rondo Energy, Inc

“Rondo Energy's mission is to eliminate 15% of global CO2 emissions in 15 years. To accomplish this mission, Rondo is deploying low-cost, zero-carbon Rondo Heat Batteries to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and to significantly decarbonize industrial processes that are commonly thought of as "difficult-to-decarbonize". The Heat Batteries are charged from intermittent renewables to provide high temperature, continuous heat for customers safely, reliably, ...”

• Project Manager (Kansas City, KA)
• Project Originator (Business Development) (Remote (Remote))
• Construction Controller (Houston, TX)
• Director of Electrical Engineering (Alameda, CA)
• Project Engineer (Houston, TX)
• NPI Buyer (Alameda, CA)
• Senior Structural Engineer, R&D (Houston, Texas)
• Industrial Equipment Engineer (Mechatronics) (Houston, TX)
• Project Originator (Business Development) (Alameda, CA)
• Director of Product (Kansas City, Kansas)
• Senior Structural Engineer, R&D (Alameda, CA)
• Senior Systems Design Engineer (Alameda, CA)
• Senior Mechanical Engineer (Alameda, CA)
• Senior Director of Project Delivery (Houston, Texas)
• Senior Boiler Design Engineer (Houston, Texas)
• Industrial Equipment Engineer (Mechatronics) (Alameda, CA)
• R&D Commodity Manager (Alameda, CA)
• New Product Introduction (NPI) Buyer (Houston, TX)

Pyka

“Pyka’s goal is to provide society with a new form of fast, environmentally friendly, and accessible transportation enabled by autonomous electric aviation. To get there, we’re taking a different approach than most. We're applying our technologies to every industry where electric aircraft can be useful, starting with the highest value and most dangerous jobs. In doing so, we're building useful, game-changing ...”

• Senior Manufacturing Engineer — Composite Airframe (Oakland, CA)
• Reliability Engineer (Oakland, CA)
• Supply Chain Manager (Oakland, CA)
• Senior/Staff Mechanical Design Engineer, Battery Systems (Oakland, CA)
• Electrical Engineering Technician (Oakland, CA)
• Senior/Staff Manufacturing Engineer — Electronic Subsystems (Oakland, CA)
• Flight Operations Manager (Oakland, CA)
• Fleet Support Engineer (Oakland, CA)
• Aircraft Integration Technician (Oakland, CA)
• Head of Software Engineering (Oakland, CA)
• Composite Technician (Oakland, CA)
• Senior Mechanical Design Engineer (Oakland, CA)
• Senior Mechanical Design Engineer — Electric Powertrain System (Oakland, CA)
• Mechanical Design Lead — Electric Powertrain System (Oakland, CA)
• Senior/Staff Reliability Engineer (Oakland, CA)

Ascend Analytics

“Ascend Analytics is an innovative software and consulting company at the forefront of the renewable energy transition. Our software solutions provide decision analytics for power traders, risk analysts, resource managers, developers and financiers. Ascend provides a collaborative work culture involving frequent interaction with clients, where individual initiative and creativity are highly valued. Interactions with senior management happen daily, and hard ...”

• Technical Engineering Manager (Python) (Boulder, CO)
• Technical Engineering Manager (Python) (Boulder, CO)
• Marketing & Communication Manager (Boulder, CO)
• Executive Administrator (Boulder, CO)
• Director of Electric Resource Planning (Boulder, CO)
• Director of Business Development - Energy Analytics (Boulder, CO)
• Backend Software Engineer (Boulder, CO)
• Accounts Receivable Specialist (Boulder, CO)
• Energy Analyst (Boulder, CO)
• Python Software Engineer (Boulder, CO)
• Energy Analytics Manager (Boulder, CO)

TeraWatt Infrastructure

“TeraWatt Infrastructure was established, in the absence of anything like it, to provide solutions for the large scale electric vehicle charging infrastructure required to meet the rapid electrification of medium and heavy duty transport and fleets. The company serves as a crucial intermediary between customers, electric vehicle charging service providers, electricity suppliers, grid operators, and capital markets, for organizations of ...”

• EVSE Test Engineer (Los Angeles)
• Power Interconnection Manager (Remote (San Francisco, Remote))
• You would like to join TeraWatt but do not see a role - drop your resume here! (Remote (San Francisco, Remote))
• Strategic Energy Manager (San Francisco, California)
• Construction Project Management Associate (San Francisco, California)
• Senior Field Service Technician (Los Angeles)
• Head of EVSE Hardware Product Engineering (SF or LA) (Los Angeles, San Francisco)
• EVSE System Validation Engineer (SF or LA) (Los Angeles, San Francisco)
• Real Estate Finance Associate (San Francisco, California)
• Accounts Payable Clerk (San Francisco, California)

Gridmatic

“Gridmatic Inc. is a high-growth ClimateTech startup based in the San Francisco Bay Area that is accelerating the clean energy transition by applying our expertise in data, machine learning, and energy to power markets. We are the rare startup that has 6 years of profitable growth without raising venture capital. Gridmatic is a great place to work with a culture ...”

• Business Development Analyst (Cupertino, CA)
• Backend Software Engineer (Cupertino, CA)
• Machine Learning Engineer (Cupertino, CA)
• Power System Applications Engineer (Cupertino, CA)
• Lead Reliability Engineer (Cupertino, CA)
• Staff Engineer (Cupertino, CA)
• Full-Stack Software Engineer (Cupertino, CA)
• Data Scientist (Cupertino, CA)
• Senior AI Research Scientist (Cupertino, CA)

NineDot Energy

“NineDot's name derives from the classic mathematical puzzle for sparking out-of-the-box solutions. As a leading community-scale, clean energy developer with a growing portfolio of projects across a range of technologies, NineDot Energy is creating innovative energy solutions that support a more resilient electric grid, deliver economic savings and reduce carbon emissions. We plan to develop, build and operate more than ...”

• Senior Director, Corporate Finance (New York - Hybrid)
• VP, Construction and Operations (New York - Hybrid)
• Operations Manager (New York - Hybrid)
• Community Impact and Partnerships Manager (New York - Hybrid)
• Project Developer, Enterprise (New York - Hybrid)
• Data Engineer (New York - Hybrid)

Scale Microgrid Solutions

“Scale Microgrid Solutions (“Scale”) is a fully integrated distributed energy platform focused on designing, implementing and financing innovative distributed clean energy solutions. Through its leading technical expertise and access to scale capital, Scale helps its customers transition to a decentralized energy future by providing and financing sustainable, cost-effective, and resilient power solutions. Scale has its own proprietary microgrid solution which ...”

• Applications Engineer (Remote (Ridgewood, NJ))
• Marketing Content Manager (Remote (Ridgewood, NJ))
• Accounts Payable Specialist (Remote (Ridgewood, NJ))
• Software Product Designer (Contract) (Remote (New York, NY))
• Compliance and Risk Manager (Remote (Ridgewood, NJ))
• Business Development Manager (Remote (California))

InPlanet

“We are an impact-driven, remote-first, AgTech startup headquartered in Germany and Brazil with the goal to reverse climate change and make tropical agriculture more regenerative, low-carbon and sustainable. We are working with Enhanced Rock Weathering in tropical agriculture, currently with focus on Brazil. We do that to create a liveable planet for future generations and, in specific, to regenerate soils ...”

• Public Relations Specialist Fully Remote (CET - 4) |English + Portuguese (Remote (São Paulo, Brazil))
• MRV Researcher Rocks & Minerals |Hybrid - Piracicaba (Sao Paulo) / Brazil | Portuguese + English (Piracicaba, State of São Paulo, Brazil)
• Personal/Executive Assistant (remote within CET - 4 hours) (Remote)
• Social Media & Science Copywriter |Fully Remote (CET /- 4) | English & Portuguese (Remote)
• Personal Assistant | Remote CET - 4 hours | German + English (Remote)

Friends of the Earth

“Friends of the Earth (FOE) is a national not for profit environmental organization driven by passion for a healthier and more just world. We push for the bold reforms that are needed. It’s an approach that has worked for five decades to produce important victories that help protect our planet and its people. We’re part of Friends of the Earth International, a federation of ...”

• Senior Oceans Campaigner, Shipping (Band C) (Remote (Remote))
• Agriculture and Climate Finance Interns-Public and Private Sector-Remote (Remote (Washington, District of Columbia (Remote)))
• Senior Campaigner, Food & Agriculture (Band C) (Remote (Washington, District of Columbia (Remote)))
• Senior Forest, Land & Climate Finance Policy Advocate (Band C) Remote (Remote (Washington, District of Columbia (Remote)))
• Senior Accountant (Band C) (Remote (Remote))

That's it for this week! Remember, you can always view thousands of more jobs on Climatebase.org.

Final reminders...

👋 Get discovered. Create a profile to have employers hire you.

🚀 Accelerate your climate career. Apply to join the Climatebase Fellowship.

🌱 Hiring? Post your jobs to reach over 250k monthly users users and over 100,000 newsletter readers.

❤️️ Share a link to this week's edition.

🐦 Let's connect! Follow us on Twitter @Climatebase, and our co-founders @evandhynes and @jhardin925