COP28: Negotiations resume as countries push towards a final deal at the UN climate summit

That's a wrap for today, thanks for joining us!

Before we go, here's a round-up of what happened at COP28 today. 

After a rest day yesterday, negotiations started again in the push towards a final deal. We took a look at where things stand halfway through the UN climate conference.
 

Is ‘something special’ happening at COP28? Campaigners and delegates are divided

The debate over who will host COP29 continues though there may have been a bit of a breakthrough. Armenia and Azerbaijan were expected to veto each other's bid to host the summit. But yesterday Armenia said it would support Azerbaijan's bid for COP29. 

Climate campaigners aren't thrilled, however, as it will mean a second year with a petrostate as host of the UN climate conference. 

Civil society delegates who expressed solidarity with Palestine at COP28 claim they have been policed to an unprecedented degree. Demonstrations have been moved to “invisible” areas inside the huge Expo City venue; time zone rules have limited protests during the day - ostensibly to protect protesters from the heat; and the “now” in calls for “ceasefire now” was censored earlier this week, they claim.

There was also a press conference on ministerial pairings today. In the words of the COP28 president, environmental ministers from the Global North and Global South are paired to " identify political challenges in the negotiations and to work with parties to bridge divides and to find the necessary solutions" as we move towards a final COP28 text. 

And more than 800 leaders - including European mayors, Paris Agreement architects, CEOs of big companies, scientists and others sent a letter to the COP28 president in support of a final deal that keeps 1.5°C of warming within reach. "Later is too late," they write. 

Join us for more from COP28 in Dubai tomorrow. In the meantime, take a look at these photos of the climate emergency captured by Indigenous children in northern Colombia.

Indigenous children in Colombia were given cameras to capture climate change. Here are their photos

Wayuu youth are suffering due to climate-driven drought. These photos show the world the challenges they face.

One of the most unique things about COP is the way it brings together people from every corner of the planet, from all walks of life and levels of power. They are all part of the climate story in some way (as we all are). 

World leaders are brought face to face with those who they are impacting most through their inaction on climate - and told to do better. 

For 16-year-old Nafiso from Somalia, COP28 has involved crossing paths with her own president - with whom she shared her thoughts - and speaking on a number of high-level panels.

“I advocate for the rights of children impacted by climate change,” she told me earlier this week through a translator. “So they get shelter, food, and education.”

“I hope that the message I’ve passed on to the leaders - both the government of Somalia as well as the international community - means they take action to address the issues I’ve raised. And [that children] are able to get the services, and education, that they deserve.”

She expressed particular concern for the many children who are currently living in IDP (internally displaced person) camps in Somalia, due to multiple crises of conflict, droughts and floods.

Climate change has brought heavy rains to her home in Mogadishu. Combined with poor planning in the area, floods have meant missing multiple days of school recently - a situation intensified by the El Nino weather phenomenon.  

And when drought hits, it’s not the lack of water per se but the heat which impacts Nafiso and her younger siblings. The family lives in a small building in a densely populated area with a tin roof that gets unbearably hot.

“Some of the younger children had to be taken to hospital to get help,” she says.

Nafiso is advocating for underprivileged, climate-affected children to be helped in so many fundamental aspects of life: water, food, education, health and shelter. 

On the shelter front, for example, she wants the government - with the support of the international community - to build new houses for people and to help them relocate.

Nafiso’s 10-person family have thought about moving but “don’t have the luxury” to really consider it, she says.

More than 800 leaders call for deal to keep 1.5C alive at COP28

Over 800 leaders including mayors of European cities, scientists, NGOs, faith leaders and CEOs have written a letter to the COP28 President today in support of a final deal that keeps 1.5°C of warming within reach. 

"As we enter the final days of COP28, we are at a tipping point," they write, calling for a "rapid response plan" to the Global Stocktake. 

The letter says that, while signs of transformation are all around us, the climate emergency is "biting harder than ever". 

It outlines three things needed to reach this "positive tipping point":

• An orderly phase-out of all fossil fuels in a just & equitable way, in line with a 1.5C trajectory - whilst ensuring the tripling of global renewable energy capacity by 2030 from 2022 levels and the doubling of energy efficiency 

  
  

• The enabling environment to scale up and shift public and private finance, with developed countries taking the lead in action and support; putting a price on carbon and tripling investments for renewable energy

  
  

• The halt and reversal of deforestation and land degradation as well as biodiversity & other ecosystem loss by 2030; ensure resilient food systems and deliver a strong global goal on adaptation 

  
  

The leaders say that these outcomes need to be supported by countries' Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and their National Adaptation Plans well before COP30 in 2025. 

"Later is too late," the letter concludes. 

Among the signatories are Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Paris Agreement architect Christiana Figueres and Sir Richard Branson. 

What are ministerial pairings?

With negotiations set to intensify from today, we've hit an important point in the process. 

There comes a point where governments have done all the talking they can and compromises need to start being made.

So, at each UN climate conference, environment ministers from countries in the Global South and Global North are paired together on key issues to help reach a final consensus by the end of the summit. 

In the words of COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber, they are "instrumental" in the push for a final deal. At a press conference today, the presidency introduced these ministerial pairs. 

South Africa, for example, has been paired with Denmark on the Global Stocktake. Denmark leads the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, a group of countries pushing for the phase-out of all fossil fuels. 

"Their job is to identify political challenges in the negotiations, and to work with parties to bridge divides and to find the necessary solutions," Al Jaber said. 

Over the next 48 hours, they will play a crucial role in reaching a consensus at COP28.
 

COP28 in Dubai ‘most restrictive we’ve seen’, civil society groups say

Civil society delegates expressing solidarity with Palestine at COP28 claim they have been policed to an unprecedented degree.

Tasneem Essop, executive director of Climate Action Network International (CAN), told reporters this morning that some members had keffiyeh scarves and other symbols of support for Palestine confiscated by UN security. 

Protests inside the UN-run blue zone are allowed within strict limits, and have to be pre-approved. But campaigners say they have experienced a particular pushback against protests for Gaza, as the Israel-Hamas war continues. 

Demonstrations have been moved to “invisible” areas inside the huge Expo City venue; time zone rules have limited protests during the day - ostensibly to protect protesters from the heat; and the “now” in calls for “ceasefire now” was censored earlier this week, they claim.

“I have to say, as both of us have been involved in this UN space for many many years, this is probably the most restrictive we've seen - way more restrictive than Egypt last year,” added Asad Rehman, executive director of War on Want.

The question, they ask, is who is behind the unusual restrictions? Rehman said the civil society leaders were initially pointed to the COP28 Presidency, but this has been denied by the leadership. 

CAN and others have been locked in days of negotiation with the UN Climate Secretariat to push for greater freedom of expression, with the UNFCCC reportedly saying they are only applying the rules. 

“It can take one party, apparently, to complain about actions, for us to be potentially de-badged,” says Essop. “And what we’ve come up against is the fact that there are some parties who have more power than others, especially around this issue of Palestine.”

The global day of action tomorrow is set to be a flashpoint for this issue, with a big march planned in the afternoon.

Don't sacrifice our rights for a climate 'quick fix', Indigenous leaders say

100 Indigenous leaders and allies have signed an open letter calling for negotiators to protect Indigenous rights as part of the clean energy transition. 

"We acknowledge and emphasize that it is more important than ever to transition to clean energy and clean transportation solutions, and away from fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and gas," it reads. 

The letter adds that many Indigenous leaders have been calling for climate action for decades, pursuing clean energy and transport solutions that align with their needs and goals. 

"These Indigenous-led solutions need to be acknowledged, recognised, promoted, and funded by States and private entities."

The letter's signatories warn that their ancestral lands should not be sacrificed for companies and politicians that seek a "quick fix in the name of climate solutions".

This includes the threat from sourcing minerals used to produce green tech like solar panels, wind turbines and electric cars. Many deposits of these minerals - like lithium, copper and nickel - are found on or near Indigenous Peoples' lands.  

Read more about the battle to secure funding for Indigenous-led solutions here: 

Trust us to manage climate funds ourselves, Indigenous Peoples ask

Amid lofty climate finance pledges, Indigenous Peoples and local communities are fighting to be involved in decisions about their territories.

On children’s day at COP28, Save the Children has released a series of powerful images taken by children from the Indigenous Wayuu tribe in northern Colombia.

Handed film cameras for a week, the children focused on water scarcity in their drought-struck community. 

“Their photos tell a powerful story of strength and resilience, highlighting the urgent need for all of us to protect our planet and support those most affected,” says Angela Ponce, the award-winning photographer who worked with them.

Indigenous children in Colombia were given cameras to capture climate change. Here are their photos

Azerbaijan is the frontrunner to host COP29

The host of the next UN climate summit is still undecided. The event is set to take place in Eastern Europe next year, but Russia has vetoed it being held in an EU country, and potential candidates Armenia and Azerbaijan were expected to veto each other.

But as part of current peace talks between the embattled countries, Armenia said yesterday that it would support Azerbaijan’s bid to host COP29 in 2024.

Climate campaigners won’t be thrilled by the boost to Azerbaijan’s chances, however. The transcontinental country gets two-thirds of of its revenue from oil and gas, so its presidency would mean two consecutive years of holding the climate conference in a petrostate.

This is the metro line that Euronews Green has been catching into COP28 every morning - opposite the world’s biggest single-site gas power station.

The Jebel Ali power and desalination complex was officially recognised as the largest of its kind by Guinness World Records in 2021.

Good morning from Dubai! We’re now into the second week of COP28, with negotiations set to get even more heated over the future of fossil fuels as countries try to reach a final agreement.

It’s day 8 of the UN climate summit - not counting yesterday’s rest day, which COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber said he hoped delegates would return from “in a much more energised fashion”.

Today’s themes are youth, children, education and skills. There will be high-level discussions about how climate change disproportionately impacts young people, and how child rights can be embedded in climate action.

Catch up on the biggest breakthroughs from the conference so far in our recap of week 1:

Is ‘something special’ happening at COP28? Campaigners and delegates are divided