World leaders have arrived in Dubai for UN Cop28 climate talks where the future of fossil fuels will be at the heart of negotiations. In his opening speech, King Charles III said the talks represented a "critical turning point" in the fight against climate change.
"I pray with all my heart that Cop28 will be another critical turning point towards genuine transformational action," King Charles told assembled leaders including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, French President Emmanuel Macron and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The talks in Dubai come at a pivotal moment for the planet, with emissions still rising and the UN on Thursday declaring 2023 on track to become the hottest year in human history.
King Charles III was the first of 140 kings, presidents and prime ministers to address delegates on Friday and Saturday.
"It worries me greatly that we remain so dreadfully far off track," the king continued, after the UN's first official progress report in September found that the world remained dangerously off course.
Unmissable opportunity
"In your hands is an unmissable opportunity to keep our common hope alive".
"The Earth does not belong to us, we belong to the Earth," said the king, a lifelong environmentalist, who missed last year's Cop27 in Egypt reportedly due to objections by then UK prime minister Liz Truss.
The UN Cop28 conference opened on Thursday with an early victory as nations agreed to launch a "loss and damage" fund for vulnerable countries devastated by natural disasters.
But delegates face two weeks of tough negotiations on an array of issues, starting with the future of oil, gas and coal.
A first draft of the agreement being negotiated by nearly 200 countries includes language on a "phasedown/out" of fossil fuels, which account for the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions.
"The science is clear: the 1.5-degree limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning all fossil fuels," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
Activists have raised concerns about the influence of the energy industry lobby at Cop28 as the conference is chaired by Sultan Al Jaber, who is also head of the UAE's national oil company.
Jaber, who is also chairman of a renewable energy firm, said Thursday the "role of fossil fuels" must be included in a final Cop28 deal.
"I will be rolling up my sleeves, engaging and helping address this challenge and delivering real, actionable results," Jaber said.
Private investment for Global South
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates said Friday it is launching a new $30 billion private investment fund focused on climate projects in developing countries.
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan told the summit that Alterra will stimulate investments totalling $250 billion by 2030.
Cop28 president Sultan Al Jaber, who is also head of the UAE's national oil company ADNOC, will chair the board of the new fund, according to a statement.
It said the fund "will drive forward international efforts to create a fairer climate finance system, with an emphasis on improving access to funding for the Global South."
Emerging markets and developing economies, except China, will need to spend $2.4 trillion every year to address their climate and development needs, according to a UN economic expert panel, far above the current levels of investments.
The UAE initiative is seen as part of the country's broader strategy for Cop28, pushing to involve the private sector while voluntarily pledging big sums.
Money has already been set aside to develop more than six gigawatts of clean energy capacity in India, including building wind and solar projects by 2025, the statement said.
Other projects in Africa and Latin America were also being explored, it added.
Asset managers BlackRock, Brookfield and TPG are launch partners of the fund, according to the statement.
The UAE sees itself as a bridge between the rich developed nations most responsible for historic emissions and the rest of the world, which has contributed less to global warming but suffers its worst consequences.
(with AFP)
