Summary

  • A new deal has been agreed at the UN climate summit in Dubai after days of negotiations

  • For the first time, the deal calls on all countries to move away from using fossil fuels - but not to phase them out, something many governments wanted

  • The text recognises the need for deep, rapid and sustained reductions if humanity is to limit temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels

  • The COP28 president said nations had "confronted realities and... set the world in the right direction"

  • Burning fossil fuels drives global warming, risking millions of lives. So far, governments have never collectively agreed to stop using them

  • Island nations hard-hit by climate change are critical - representative Samoa says they were "not in the room" when the deal was approved

  • Campaign groups also say the agreement doesn't go far enough; Greenpeace says it won't be possible to achieve the transition in a "fair and fast manner"

Live Reporting

Edited by Dulcie Lee at COP28 in Dubai

  1. 'We will not sign our death certificate': Hard-hit nations furious about draft deal

    Georgina Rannard
    Climate reporter at COP28 in Dubai

    We've been getting reaction from countries on the frontline of climate change - places where sea level rises are already destroying homes and storms are killing people.

    In a press conference the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis) said "we will not sign our death certificate".

    "We cannot sign onto text that does not have strong commitments on phasing out fossil fuels."

    It said that the commitment to limit global temperature rise to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels is the red line their nations will not cross.

    "Any text that compromises 1.5C will be rejected," it said.

  2. Brace for one heck of a fight

    Matt McGrath
    Environment correspondent, at COP28

    We are now in the heavy procedural bit of these talks. The COP28 president Sultan al-Jaber is rapidly going through a range of decisions that have been negotiated here for the past two weeks.

    We don’t know yet if he will try to secure a final agreement on the main text, which could limit the world's use of fossil fuels.

    Observers believe he will be in for a heck of a fight if he tries to get it through as it currently stands.

  3. Analysis

    New draft climate agreement is weak - and it's down to one word

    Justin Rowlatt
    Climate editor, at COP28

    What’s in a word? Here at the UN climate conference some people are saying the future of the planet rests on them.

    When I first read the new text my hot-take was that it was really progressive.

    It's not promising the “phase out” of fossil fuels we were hoping for - but there's lots of detail on winding down the world’s dependence on coal, oil and gas, while at the same time ramping up renewables, and switching to low carbon technologies.

    But I had missed a crucial word: "could". What I was reading was a menu. You could chose all of this stuff or nothing at all.

    The text isn’t strong, it is actually very weak.

  4. The world is watching - COP28 president

    Georgina Rannard
    Climate reporter, at COP28

    "The time to decide is now," COP28 president Sultan al-Jaber tells the almost 200 countries gathered in the vast room at these talks in Dubai.

    A new draft plan on how the world should tackle climate change was published less than an hour ago - we're still poring over details.

    “The world is watching. Let’s not rest until we get this done.

    “We have made progress, but we still have a lot to do,” he concludes.

    Expectations were low for this president, who is also chief executive of the United Arab Emirates state oil giant Adnoc. But will he prove the critics wrong?

  5. New COP, who dis? The man running the climate talks

    Al-JaberEPA

    The man running this year’s talks - and speaking right now - is Sultan al-Jaber - an engineer, businessman and politician from the United Arab Emirates, who 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.

    The 50-year-old oil exec studied for a PhD at Coventry University in the UK, according to news agency Reuters, and is not a member of any of the six ruling families of the seven Emirates.

    All eyes have been on him here in Dubai, with plenty of speculation over every smile - and side-eye - as people search for clues on how the talks are going.

  6. The story so far in glitzy - and smoggy - Dubai

    Georgina Rannard
    Climate reporter at COP28

    Flashy announcements filled the first days of COP28 in Dubai – rich nations pledged over $700m to help pay for impacts of climate change, and about 100 countries promised to treble renewable power by 2030.

    Big names, including King Charles, led rallying calls for action.

    A row erupted as the COP28 boss hit back at claims of climate denial, after comments surfaced of Sultan al-Jaber saying there was"no science” behind ditching fossil fuels to meet the core climate goal of limiting temperature rises to 1.5C.

    Nations got down to the hard stuff. As we sit in on this meeting with almost 200 countries present - who must all agree - we could be on the final stretch.

  7. Climate talks at COP28 go to the wire

    Dulcie Lee
    Live reporter at COP28

    We're sitting in the main room at the heart of the UN's climate conference, as COP28 goes to the wire.

    A few moments ago, we saw the latest draft agreement which lays out the world's collective response to climate change.

    Language has changed from the previous version, with small island states saying the latest text has been watered down.

    It’s been a chaotic couple of hours, but now hundreds of people are sat in this vast room waiting to see whether the almost 200 countries here will come to a final agreement. Stick with us.