The World Risks Focusing on the Wrong Things at COP28
Instead of fights over phrases such as “phase out fossil fuels,” the United Nations climate conference should zero in on ways to scale climate solutions faster.
Sultan Al Jaber, chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and president of COP28, in United Arab Emirates, on Oct. 2, 2023.
Photographer: Christopher Pike/BloombergThis is from the Green Daily newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox.
Every year, the United Nations climate conference is gripped by major power rivalries over tiny terms. At COP27 in Egypt, it was “phase out fossil fuels.” At this year’s COP28 in Dubai, expect debate over “tripling renewable energy capacity.” These standoffs tend to grab headlines — after all, who doesn’t want to know whether it was China, Saudi Arabia or the US that played spoilsport in high-stakes global diplomacy?