Simon Stiell, Sultan Al Jaber and other delegates applaud during the final remarks of the Closing Plenary at COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Dec. 13.
Photographer: Christopher Pike/COP28How the World’s First Deal to Ditch Fossil Fuels Was Forged at COP28
A controversial leader. A universally hated draft. Against all odds, climate negotiators reached their first ever agreement on moving away from coal, oil and gas.
It was an improbable scene in Dubai as a top oil executive basked in a standing ovation from hundreds of diplomats tasked with fighting climate change.
Sultan Al Jaber, head of the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned oil company, had just presided over the two-week COP28 summit that led to the world’s first agreement to move away from fossil fuels. There were tears, hugs and claps on the back as exhausted delegates celebrated a milestone in the battle against global warming.
It was a remarkable turnaround from just two days earlier, when negotiations had become so fraught there were fears they might fall apart. That would have been a disaster for Al Jaber and his army of hired consultants, who had spent months crisscrossing the globe to build support for a deal. And it would signal that the Paris Agreement to stem greenhouse gas emissions was unraveling — catnip for climate-denying populists like Donald Trump.