The inside story of COP 28

The Guardian has an in-depth article recounting how COP 28 President Sultan Al Jaber and UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell managed to steer the conference to a final agreement. The full article is well worth a read, but the key point is that they were able to convince Saudi Arabia to relent after 30 years of blocking language signalling a move away from fossil fuels.

That said any transition is likely to meet stiff resistance - Carbon Brief notes that the term used in the text - “calls on” - is the weakest possible language for a UN document. There is also the fact that Sultan Al Jaber has gone straight back to his day job as CEO of the UAE’s state-owned oil company Adnoc and said he will continue to invest in oil and gas production.

The article also reminds us that COP 29 will be hosted by Azerbaijan, another petrostate who relies heavily on the export of oil and gas to fund its economy. What was gained at COP 28 could easily be lost in 2024, particularly if the conference also coincides with the election of a Republican in the US presidential election.

The COP 28 talks involved an estimated 85,000 participants, including at least 1,300 fossil fuel lobbyists.