Key events
Fiona Harvey
Monday morning at Cop28 has mostly been spent waiting for the promised presidency text. This will draw together the strands of all the major issues at these talks – the future of fossil fuels, and renewable energy; adaptation; the mitigation work programme, by which countries update their emissions commitments – and many of the more minor but still important ones, such as the regulation of carbon markets.
The presidency spent most of yesterday either in meetings with individual countries and big country groupings, or in the majlis session, a broad meeting of ministers and heads of delegations at which every country was invited by Sultan Al Jaber to bring its “solutions”.
The text will not be the end of the story – it will be subject to close scrutiny and then wrangling by all of the countries present. The fault lines remain where they have been: a fossil fuel phase-out is still potentially on the cards, but faces strong opposition from Saudi Arabia and a handful of its allies, though some important countries including China have softened and are seeking compromise. China and the US are locked in close negotiations, with both Xie Zhenhua and John Kerry expressing their mutual amity and commitment. But whether this translates into the “engine” of change and progress in the climate that some are hoping remains difficult to predict. Both men are said to want a legacy of commitment to the Cop, but what that means in practice for the climate is unclear.
Meanwhile country pavilions are closing as the talks embark on their final official full day of mediations before the scheduled end at 11am. Talks are almost certain to go past that point, given the sheer volume of issues and text yet to be closed. It’s possible that agreement will not be reached on some of the technical issues up for debate here, such as regulating the carbon markets. Some of them could be allowed to drift over to next year’s conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, if necessary. But on the main issues – fossil fuels and adaptation – there is no choice for counties but to slug it out to the bitter end.
UN secretary general: ‘End the fossil fuel age. Deliver climate justice.’
The head of the United Nations, António Guterres, has called on world leaders to “end the fossil fuel age” as he returns to Cop28 for the final days of the summit.
I have come back to #COP28, because we are on the brink of climate disaster & this conference must mark a turning point.
I am here to renew my urgent appeal to leaders:
Recommit to the 1.5°C warming limit.
End the fossil fuel age.
Deliver climate justice.
Make #COP28 count.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) December 10, 2023
One of the big fights that has been taking place over the last week is whether countries will agree to phase out fossil fuels or just phase them down. The science is clear that – however little is to be used decades from now – the amount of coal, oil and gas being burned must fall much faster if world leaders are to honour their promise of keeping global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial temperatures.
These were some of the main developments yesterday at Cop28 in Dubai:
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The conference president, Sultan Al Jaber, warned that “failure is not an option” as he prepares a final package for delegates.
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Vulnerable countries were unhappy at the weak language on climate adaptation.
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Human Rights Day was marked by civil society complaints about restrictions on protest.
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Experts were worried that carbon emissions trading could become a “black box’ due to inadequate transparency.
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Global food production will become “problematic” even at 1.5C, a US envoy has predicted.
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Argentina was due to swear in a new climate-denying president who has reportedly put the tourism minister in charge of the environment.
Good morning! This is Ajit Niranjan, on the 10th day (if we don’t count Thursday’s rest day) of the 28th Conference of the Parties climate change summit, or Cop28.
The Guardian will be liveblogging the negotiations throughout, as always, and we look forward to your contributions: please email me on [email protected] with thoughts and suggestions. Jonathan Watts ([email protected]) will be taking over later on.
Yesterday, the Cop president, Sultan Al Jaber, warned the summit that ambition must be stepped up. “The time has come for us to switch gears. We need a text agreed by everyone on greenhouse gases … It boils down to the need for all parties to come to terms (with the fact) that we will deliver the highest ambition. All parties should come to terms with this fact.”
Now that the final stage of the negotiations have begun we are close to finding out just how ambitious this Cop will be.
