World leaders are gathering in Dubai for the annual UN climate summit and calling for urgent action to slow the rate of global warming, The NewYork Times reports.
King Charles III, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Kenyan President William Ruto, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas are expected to address the meeting of world leaders on Friday. The event will continue for 10 days as negotiators from almost every country try to find common ground in the fight against climate change.
The meeting comes at the end of a year that is almost certain to be the hottest on record. Greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from the burning of fossil fuels, have warmed the planet by about 1.2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Floods, fires, droughts and hurricanes, exacerbated by climate change, are wreaking havoc around the world.
Leaders calling for swift action to reduce emissions face a daunting task. Global greenhouse gas emissions and demand for fossil fuels continue to rise, although many developed countries are installing more wind and solar power plants.
Any final agreement must be ratified by all countries present. The need for unanimous agreement means that every word in the final document will be scrutinised in detail. In previous years, representatives of oil-producing countries have vetoed language calling for a rapid divestment from fossil fuels.
On the first day of the summit, delegates reached agreement in principle on a fund to help poor countries cope with climate disasters. Another major issue on the agenda is international efforts to curb emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
This year’s event is being held in the United Arab Emirates, an oil-rich nation that has been accused of trying to broker oil deals on the sidelines of the summit. The president of the process, Sultan Al Jaber, is the head of the Emirates’ state oil company Adnoc. Thousands of oil and gas executives are attending the event.
In his opening remarks on Thursday, Mr Al Jaber defended the presence of fossil fuels at COP28. He noted:
Let history reflect the fact that this is the presidency that made a bold choice to proactively engage with oil and gas companies.
In his address, he urged delegates to continue efforts to keep global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, a goal that many scientists consider nearly unattainable. He claimed:
We have the power to do something unprecedented. I ask you to work together.
