• Visitors are urged to use the Dubai Metro for faster, easier and greener travel to COP28 UAE.
  • Green Zone will have a mix of activities catering to diverse interests, encouraging everyone to become climate actionists
  • With 10 themed hubs hosting over 600 events, the Green Zone serves as a focal point for diverse perspectives, focusing on climate change, sustainability, innovation, technology, and education.
  • Breakthrough innovations, tech exhibits, interactive installations, film screenings, and talks have been organized for families and climate actionists.
  • Expo City Farm showcases sustainable agriculture and provides engaging experiences for families and children.
  • Highlights include the Tree of Life, an AI interactive digital art installation in the Energy Hub, symbolizing environmental sustainability. Additionally, an interactive puppet show, ‘One World One Humanity,’ celebrates a collective future, emphasizing unity and inspiration towards sustainability.
  • To enhance the experience for those interested in climate-focused activities, the Green Zone will amplify the underrepresented voices in global discussions, providing opportunities for engagement with youth and indigenous perspectives for a truly inclusive dialogue.

Dubai: COP28’s Green Zone opens its doors to the public starting tomorrow, offering a diverse range of activities catering to both families and climate actionists.

Visitors can explore breakthrough climate innovations, cutting-edge tech, interactive exhibits, inspiring art installations, film screenings, and talks across Expo City Dubai.

There are 10 themed hubs in the area designed to serve as focal points, bringing together diverse perspectives and expertise to address the pressing challenges of our time. The Green Zone will buzz with activity, hosting over 600 events focusing on climate change, sustainability, innovation, technology, and education.

For families and children, art will take centerstage, as inspiring installations will dot the landscape, visually conveying the urgency of climate action. A must-visit place is the Expo City Farm that will demonstrate sustainable agricultural practices.

There will be over 90 food and beverage outlets. Attendees can indulge in menus that not only tantalize taste buds but also align with principles of sustainability and social responsibility. For the first time ever, COP28 aims to offer a 1.5C aligned food menu.

For more focused climate activities, the Green Zone will amplify the voices of the people often underrepresented in global discussions. There will be several opportunities to engage with and champion the perspectives of youth and indigenous peoples, aimed at delivering a truly inclusive dialogue.

There will be over 200 exhibits from private companies and civil society, showcasing innovative solutions and partnerships addressing climate challenges. Cutting-edge technologies and progressive thinking will be on display, highlighting the power of collaboration in tackling environmental issues.

The Green Zone will be open until 12 December and visitors must have a pass to access the site. Register for your free Green Zone Day Pass here: https://greenzonepass.cop28.com.  

Visitor are urged to use the Dubai Metro for faster, easier and greener travel to COP28 UAE. Plan your journey at: https://www.rta.ae/wps/portal/rta/ae/public-transport/timetable#DubaiMetro

Disembark at the Expo2020 station, and the site is just a short walk away.

 3 December at the Green Zone: what to expect.

Tree of Life: Inspiring Sustainability and Stability: Families with children should not miss a visit to the Energy Hub to experience the Tree of Life, a world-first artificial intelligence (AI) interactive digital art installation and a contemporary symbol of environmental sustainability. Taking inspiration from the resilient Ghaf tree, native to the UAE and renowned for thriving in harsh conditions, this installation fuses art with AI. The Tree of Life invites visitors to understand COP28's key themes and make personal commitments to environmental sustainability.

One World One Humanity: Celebrating a Collective Future: Visitors can enjoy a grand interactive puppet show, One World One Humanity, taking place from 3 to 11 December. This show will embody the spirit of COP28's message: UNITE. ACT. DELIVER. Larger-than-life characters will lead a narrative celebrating our interconnected world, fostering unity and inspiration towards a more sustainable and equitable future. There will be two shows daily, but on weekends, including 3 December, you can enjoy three shows with your family and young children.

Key sessions for climate actionists include:

Reaching the Last Mile Forum will be held at Connect Conference Center Auditorium (9 am to 1 pm). Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the forum will convene global, frontline, and community leaders to promote resilient health systems that leave no one behind.

The event will be a platform to assess the effects of climate change on human health, with an emphasis on last-mile efforts to end diseases such as polio, malaria, and neglected tropical diseases.

The discussion will shed light on the innovations, initiatives, and funding models advancing sustainable and equitable healthcare, where it is needed the most.

Several high-profile speakers include Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization; H.E. Reem Al Hashimy, UAE’s Minister of State for International Cooperation; H.E. Sheikh Shakhboot Nahyan Al Nahyan, UAE’s Cabinet Member and Minister of State Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mariam bint Almheiri, UAE’s Minister of Climate Change and Environment, and many others.

Supporting Renewable Energy in Fragile Settings will be held at the majlis of the Women's Pavilion (10:30 am – 12 pm). The event will focus on how countries experiencing security and humanitarian challenges have the lowest energy access rates, yet the highest energy costs, resulting in fragility and barriers to climate finance and economic development.

The transition of humanitarian and peacekeeping operations to renewable energy presents a unique opportunity for both, the United Nations and countries hosting these operations to deliver on climate, development, peace, and security objectives. This event will showcase progress of the Energy Compact on Renewable Energy for United Nations Peacekeeping and seeks to contribute to the humanitarian sector’s transition to renewable energy to increase efficiency and reduce costs and carbon emissions.

Climate and Health Response in the UAE event will be held at Impact Hub, level 2 (11:30 am - 12:30 pm). It will shed light on the UAE national and local efforts to address the climate change and its effect on health, and how the healthcare sector is working to mitigate climate change risks. The platform will help in exchanging insights, experiences, and ideas to build a sustainable resilient health system and reduce carbon emissions.

Public-Private Partnerships for Healthcare Climate Action event will be held at Impact Hub, level 1 atrium (11:30 am - 12:45 pm). This session will explore the crucial role of non-state actors and the private sector in addressing the climate-health nexus and building a climate-resilient, low-carbon health sector.

How Small and Medium Enterprises Can Change the Course of Action in the Climate Fight session will be held at the majlis of Women's Pavilion (2:30 pm to 4 pm). SMEs have the potential to significantly impact the course of action in the climate fight during COP28, a COP focused on tangible action and inclusivity. The COP28 presidency, in collaboration with the We Mean Business Coalition and with the support of Masdar, FAB, and Abu Dhabi Chamber, is launching the first Arabic Sustainability Campaign for SMEs in the MENA region.

Climate-Health Solutions event will be held at Impact Hub, level 1 atrium (4:30 pm to 6 pm). It will showcase a range of concrete actions and interventions across the climate-health nexus to demonstrate the breadth and scope of solutions that can be piloted and/or scaled up to save lives and safeguard health, while materially reducing carbon emissions and other forms of pollution.

About COP28 UAE:  

  • COP28 UAE is taking place at Expo City Dubai from November 30-December 12, 2023. The Conference is expected to convene over 70,000 participants, including heads of state, government officials, international industry leaders, private sector representatives, academics, experts, youth, and non-state actors. 
  • As mandated by the Paris Climate Agreement, COP28 UAE is delivering the first ever Global Stocktake – a comprehensive evaluation of progress against climate goals. 
  • The UAE is leading a process for all parties to agree upon a clear roadmap to accelerate progress through a pragmatic global energy transition and a “leave no one behind” approach to inclusive climate action.