You would attend the meeting as ‘party overflow’ for New Zealand. Your badge would say “New Zealand party overflow” but you would not be part of the official New Zealand delegation. As such, you should not represent yourself as part of the New Zealand delegation, nor speak on behalf of the New Zealand Government.
The ‘party overflow’ badge allows you to access the Blue Zone at COP. You will be able to move around the Blue Zone, attend events in country pavilions, and as space allows, observe some negotiations.
For more information about the zones at COP28, please refer to the host country website COP28 UAE | United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC).
The New Zealand Government does not offer any financial assistance to attend COP. We encourage you to explore alternative funding sources such as community funding, university grants etc.
You will be responsible for your own travel arrangements.
Please note that flight connections and accommodation are usually booked up well in advance, and that prices are likely to be higher than normal. We strongly encourage you to make your travel arrangements early.
You must:
- Be A New Zealand citizen or Permanent Resident
- Be able to fund and make your own travel and accommodation arrangements. You are also responsible for any visa requirements for the UAE
- Demonstrate a verifiable interest in attending COP
- Agree to abide by the UNFCCC code of conduct, and
- Be unable to obtain a badge elsewhere (e.g. from an accredited organisation).
Consular assistance is always available to New Zealand citizens overseas. We encourage you to visit, and to register with, SafeTravel and to read the travel advisory for the UAE. The SafeTravel website also provides information about the kinds of assistance New Zealand Embassies can provide to New Zealanders in need. We also strongly encourage you to take out comprehensive travel insurance.
The official NZ delegation to COP28 is not responsible for you on the ground. If you have a consular issue, please refer to Safe Travel.
You can only be registered by one organisation. We do encourage you to explore alternative sources for badges if this is a better fit for you, but in order to avoid duplication we ask that you do not pursue other badges in parallel.
At all COPs, we hold daily stakeholder briefings for all New Zealanders attending the meeting regardless of what kind of badge they hold. These cover different thematic issues and offer the opportunity to interact with New Zealand’s negotiators.