Visitors to Cop28 at Expo City are being urged to use public transport throughout the two-week conference.
Organisers have said using Dubai Metro will be a quicker and more environmentally sustainable form of travel to access and leave the site.
Visitors can expect certain roads near Expo City to be closed for the first three days of Cop28 due to heightened security protocols.
Organisers said visitors may also experience last-minute changes to road access or closures during the event.
Dubai Metro’s Red Line, which has direct access to Expo City, connects Dubai International Airport and some of the city’s major hotels.
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority, in its traffic plan for the event, said the metro’s operational hours will be extended by one hour, from 5am to 1am.
The first train will arrive at the wheelchair-friendly Expo Metro station at 5.19am and the final one will leave at midnight every day of the event.
More than 10,000 eco-friendly Dubai Taxis will be available at Expo City Dubai through the Hala Taxi platform, while Uber, Careem and Yango will also be operating during the event.
Taxi pick-ups will be at four designated ranks – Opportunity Gate, Mobility Gate, Sustainability Gate and the Metro Gate.
The Expo site will be divided into Blue and Green Zones.
Parking is available for visitors to the Blue and Green Zones, with frequent parking shuttles operating from all car parks.
Blue Zone
The Blue Zone, which is managed by the UN, will be open to heads of state, accredited government officials and media during Cop28.
It covers the Rove Hotel, the Dubai Exhibition Centre and it will also include Al Wasl Plaza and several Mobility and Opportunity district buildings.
Due to a limited amount of car parking spaces in the Blue Zone, delegates are encouraged to use Dubai Metro and the Metro Park and Ride located at Centrepoint (Al Rashidiya), Etisalat by e& (Al Qusais) and Jebel Ali stations.
Outside of metro hours, an overnight shuttle service will operate every 20 minutes from midnight to 5am to several hotel locations in the city, including Premier Inn Dubai Ibn Battuta, Sofitel Dubai Jumeirah Beach, Media Rotana, Premier Inn Barsha Heights, Courtyard by Marriott Al Barsha and Sheraton Mall of the Emirates.
Cop28 will provide public transport free of charge throughout the event for Blue Zone delegates. The RTA will also issue free pre-charged ‘Nol’ cards to Conference of Youth participants attending the conference.
Abu Dhabi shuttles
From November 21 to 29, organisers will also operate a shuttle service from Abu Dhabi International Airport to Expo City, from 6am to 10am every 30 minutes and from 10am to 8pm every 60 minutes.
During the conference (Nov 30 to Dec 13), the shuttle blues from Abu Dhabi airport to Cop28 will run from 6am to 10am every 30 minutes and then from 10am to 11pm every 60 minutes.
From Cop28 venue to Abu Dhabi International Airport, the buses will run every 60 minutes from 8.30am to 4.30pm and from 9.30pm to 1.30am. Between 4.30pm and 9.30pm, they will operate every 30 minutes.
Green Zone
The Green Zone, which is the area open to the public from December 3 to 12, will include the Sustainability district, Alif or the Mobility pavilion, the Vision and Women’s pavilions, the Surreal water feature, Al Forsan park and some sections of the Mobility district that feature a youth and green hub.
The general public can gain access to the site from the Opportunity, Sustainability and Mobility arrival plazas.
Those looking to visit the Green Zone between December 3 and December 12 will require a pass, which is free of charge and provides one-time access on a given day.
Booking for the free Green Zone Day Pass is now available on the Cop28 website, which has a detailed map of the site. Each ticket is valid only for the day it’s booked for and cannot be used for several entries.
Organisers are expecting up to 70,000 people a day to visit the site, with music, events and shows planned.