COP28 SUMMIT World to reckon with future of fossil fuels

Delegates from nearly 200 countries will convene today for the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, where conference host and OPEC member the UAE hopes to sell the vision of a low-carbon future that includes, not shuns, fossil fuels.

That narrative, also backed by other big oil producer nations, will throw the spotlight on international divisions at the summit over the best way to combat global warming: countries are split over whether to prioritize phasing out coal and oil and gas, or scale up technologies like carbon capture to scrub away their climate impact.

The annual United Nations summit from November 30 to December 12 is taking place as the world is poised to shatter another record for the hottest year in 2023, and as new reports confirm countries’ current climate pledges are not enough to avert the worst impacts of global warming.

Among the key decisions nations must make in Dubai – a gleaming high-tech city in a country awash in petrodollars – will be whether to agree, for the first time, to gradually “phase out” global consumption of fossil fuels and replace them with sources like solar, wind and others.

Underscoring the rift, the International Energy Agency, the West’s energy watchdog, issued a report ahead of the conference defining its position. It called the idea of widespread carbon capture an “illusion”.

londonGBDESK//