Georgina Rannard
Climate reporter, at COP28

Delegates in here seem genuinely pleased with what's happened. There's been none of the objections so far that appeared to be brewing among countries like the European Union, the bloc that said on Monday it would walk away without a strong deal on fossil fuels.

Image source, AFP

The COP28 president is offering some remarks now - which you can watch by clicking play at the top of this page - following the swift conclusion that just saw a deal agreed.

Sultan al-Jaber says the deal offers a "comprehensive response" to climate change, representing a "robust action plan to keep 1.5C in reach".

"Together we have confronted realities and we have set the world in the right direction," he says.

Al-Jaber goes on to say this is a plan that's "led by the science" and a "balanced plan" to tackle emissions and deliver on loss and damage caused by climate change.

Georgina Rannard
Climate reporter, at COP28

We have agreement for the first time ever, says COP28 president Sultan al-Jaber. Delegates applause again.

"All of these are world firsts... that will help shape a better, cleaner world with more equitable prosperity," he says after listing the pledges made in the first days of these talks.

Dulcie Lee
Live reporter, at COP28

That was an incredibly quick end to a mammoth set of negotiations.

The room exploded into extended applause with almost everyone in the room on their feet.

Before the room rose in appreciation, COP28 president Sultan al-Jaber said of the deal: "We have the basis to make transformational change happen."

Matt McGrath
Environment correspondent, at COP28

After days of negotiations, the end came in just a few minutes.

In the plenary session, Sultan al-Jaber, hearing no objections, gavelled through the decision on the "global stocktake", the key document to be agreed at this meeting.

There's a massive standing ovation in the room as COP28 chief Sultan al-Jaber says the draft text has been approved.

Matt McGrath
Environment correspondent, at COP28

As delegates gather in the plenary hall, it's clear that some countries will have significant problems living with this text.

Small island states are not happy and observers expect some heartfelt interventions.

African nations are also not satisfied, particularly on issues related to adaptation.

The EU is signalling that it can live with the text and some delegates are talking about the historic nature of the transition away from fossil fuels. We'll find out shortly what everyone really thinks.

Georgina Rannard
Climate reporter, at COP28

The session may finally be starting, an hour after it was scheduled.

COP28 president Sultan al-Jaber has taken his seat. I just saw him talking to the UN climate chief Simon Stiell on the far side of the stage.

We appear to be ready for lift-off in what might be the final plenary of these talks.

Georgina Rannard
Climate reporter, at COP28

The German climate minister Jennifer Morgan has arrived and I spotted her talking to Sengal's Madeleine Diouf Sarr - who is also chair of an important group of 46 nations called Least Developed Countries.

One of their priorities is access to finance to transition to green energy.

Sarr appears to be telling Morgan that her group can live with the proposed deal.

The European Union's commissioner for climate action has just spoken to reporters, telling them the deal "could well be truly consequential".

"For the first time in 30 years we might now reach the beginning of the end of fossil fuels," Wopke Hoekstra says - referring to the mention of fossil fuels for the first time ever in a COP text.

He says the plan represents a "very significant step towards" securing the aim of limiting global warming to the vital 1.5C target.

Hoekstra goes on to say the negotiations managed to unite many countries with "significant concerns" over the deal.

He adds that COP28 negotiators were "making progress" over mitigating the effects of climate change, helping people adapt to its impact and securing financing for projects to combat it.

Esme Stallard
Climate reporter, at COP28

Image source, Getty Images

After leaving the summit to return back to London for a key vote in Parliament, the UK's climate minster Graham Stuart has now come back to Dubai.

He was summoned to return to the UK on Monday in time for the vote on the government's Rwanda bill, in an attempt to shore up a potential Tory rebellion, which was seen off.

But the decision to go missing in the middle of the talks was heavily criticised.

At the time Rebecca Newsom, of Greenpeace, called it "an outrageous dereliction of leadership".

The UK hosted the COP26 climate talks in 2021 but since then a number of green policies have been delayed such as the decision to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles - which has seen the UK's leadership on the climate change issue questioned.

At the time, Stuart's team stressed that the UK was still represented at COP by the country's chief negotiator and another climate minister.

Dulcie Lee
Live reporter, at COP28

There are dozens of huddles going on in this vast hall, but a booming voice has just come over the microphone and called for a stop to that.

They ask everyone to take their seats, saying "we're not about to start, but there won't be any standing in this plenary [meeting] or the next".

Not sure where that leaves us on a last minute toilet-dash...

Delegates in Dubai have broadly welcomed the latest draft of the final agreement, although several countries or groups of like-minded nations have expressed reservations.

Reuters has been speaking to some of the key players at the talks - here's a flavour of some reaction:

Brazil - chief climate negotiator, Andre Correa do Lago, said delegates should approve the proposed text

Kenya - climate change envoy Ali Mohamed said Kenya "can live with this text"

China - climate negotiator Liu Zhenmin described the deal as "not perfect" and said some issues still remain

Alliance of Small Island States - the group of 39 countries, who are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change like sea levels, said it saw "a litany of loopholes" in a proposed text. In their view, the deal does not go far enough to phase out or mitigate fossil fuel use, describing the deal as "incremental and not transformational"

Georgina Rannard
Climate reporter, at COP28

The rows of ministerial chairs are filling up. But there are still some empty seats in the key room here at COP28.

Where are the European Union, the UK, the US and Samoa, who also acts as chair of the Alliance of Small Island States - countries on the front line of climate change.

Is a rebellion against the deal brewing? Could this be the delay?

Georgina Rannard
Climate reporter, at COP28

This meeting (which we don't know yet is the final one, or not - there is some confusion here) was due to start 20 minutes ago

The noise is rising in the room as ministers arrive - and there are a rumours flying around relentlessly on whether this is truly the endgame.

I can see some huddles on the floor - here the Chinese delegation seem to be talking in a group with representatives from Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has reportedly blocked strong language on phasing out fossil fuels at these talks. In the past, China has also been against a rapid move away from coal, oil, and gas but there were signs that this position had softened this year.

Image source, Reuters

We've just had these photos of the COP28 president spotted at the conference in Dubai, moments before a crunch meeting to decide the future of this new climate deal.

Sultan al-Jaber is the man running this year’s talks - he's an engineer, businessman and politician from the United Arab Emirates, who also chairs the state oil company.

As such, he’s a controversial pick for COP28 president - activist Greta Thunberg called it "completely ridiculous”.

But Jaber’s view is that fossil fuels are the heart of the climate crisis - so it makes sense to persuade that industry from the inside.

Image source, Reuters

Georgina Rannard
Climate reporter, at COP28

I've just heard from the Iraqi delegation. The country is a member of Opec, the group that represents oil nations.

Yousif Muayad Yousif, director of the climate change department, says the new text represents "some progress" and that the COP presidency took into consideration feedback from Iraq.

But the country wants more in the deal that reflects that countries have different national circumstances and therefore some should not have to transition away from fossil fuels as quickly as others.

By 2030, Iraq is forecast to be the third largest contributor to global oil supply. But it's a poor country reliant on that income.

He also says developing countries like his need more financial support to change their economy into a green one.

Georgina Rannard
Climate reporter, at COP28

We've just made it into the room where the final deal will - or will not - be passed. The COP presidency will be hoping this is the final session, bringing an end to the talks and sealing the agreement.

Ministers are slowly filing in and taking their seats in the vast room. Behind them are four rows of observers, usually from NGOs, and journalists. We've bagged a coveted seat by a plug.

Though it's procedural, it's still exciting to witness what could be a historic moment.

The session is supposed to open at 10:00 local time (06:00GMT) but history tells us it's a fool's game betting on the official schedule.

The draft agreement is out - but nothing is decided until the COP president brings the gavel down.

Ministers turn on the microphones on their desks to make objections, and can even make changes on pieces of paper, circulated around the room. Stick with us.

Justin Rowlatt
Climate editor, at COP28

The BBC team here in Dubai have been sitting round in a huddle since the text was published debating - sometimes very enthusiastically - what this new text means. It’s not an easy process because the language in these documents is so slippery.

What do I mean by that?

Take one example, the language on fossil fuels. How big a change is deleting a suggestion that countries “could” take action to wind down their use and replacing it with a call to “contribute” to that process?

Or how about referring to a transition away from fossil fuels in “energy systems”. Does that mean everything except products like plastics that are made from them - or it could refer just to electricity generation?

Matt McGrath
Environment correspondent, at COP28

Country delegates are drifting into the conference centre and we are starting to get some reactions.

One European representative said it was a "good text", we've even had some hints from oil producing nations that "progress" has been made.

People are still assessing the overall document, with the general feeling that it has pros and cons.

"Fossil fuels have been finally brought to the table," said Jean Su, from the US activist group, the Center for Biological Diversity.

"On the other hand, the new text includes cavernous loopholes that will allow for the oil and gas industry to continue."

In the next few hours, we'll get a sense of whether the majority here can live with these compromises.