A general view of Al Wasl Dome Plaza in Expo City Dubai. The site will host the Cop28 climate summit later this year. EPA
A general view of Al Wasl Dome Plaza in Expo City Dubai. The site will host the Cop28 climate summit later this year. EPA
A general view of Al Wasl Dome Plaza in Expo City Dubai. The site will host the Cop28 climate summit later this year. EPA
A general view of Al Wasl Dome Plaza in Expo City Dubai. The site will host the Cop28 climate summit later this year. EPA

Cop28's daily themed schedule unveiled by UAE hosts


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The organisers of the Cop28 climate summit to be held in the UAE from November have revealed the day-by-day schedule with talks set to be structured into seven themed days after a meeting of world leaders.

A programme was sent to delegates after Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Cop28 President-designate and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, set out his goals at a climate meeting in Brussels.

The summit opens on November 30 at Dubai’s Expo City. Two days are allocated for world leaders to outline their plans for climate action on December 1 and 2.

Talks on December 3 will focus partly on health, in what the presidency says is a first for a Cop summit. A second theme of the day will be relief, recovery and peace.

Finance, trade, gender equality and accountability will take centre stage on December 4, after Dr Al Jaber made fixing financial gaps one of the four pillars of his plan for Cop28.

December 5 will feature a focus on energy, industry and just transition, with countries being urged to speed up the switch from fossil fuels to renewable power sources.

The two-week thematic programme for Cop28. Photo: Cop28
The two-week thematic programme for Cop28. Photo: Cop28

The theme on December 6 is multilevel action, urbanisation and the built environment, then transport, before negotiators have a rest day on December 7.

Youth, children, education and skills come into focus when negotiations resume on December 8. The Cop28 presidency has promised to assemble the largest ever group of young delegates at the summit.

The emphasis on December 9 is on nature, land use and oceans before a final themed day on food, agriculture and water on December 10.

The last two scheduled days of the summit on December 11 and 12 have been left clear for final negotiations, which have been known to overrun in the past.

The presidency said finance, inclusion, frontline communities, and technology and innovation would make up four “cross-cutting themes” for the discussions.

Dr Al Jaber said the UAE presidency had received more than 600 submissions on the two-week agenda in an “innovative and inclusive” consultation with delegates.

Cop28 President-designate Dr Sultan Al Jaber has set out plans for the summit in meetings with ministers in Europe this week. Photo: Cop28 UAE / Twitter
Cop28 President-designate Dr Sultan Al Jaber has set out plans for the summit in meetings with ministers in Europe this week. Photo: Cop28 UAE / Twitter

The programme “highlights the sectors and topics that stakeholders repeatedly raised in our consultations, including both standard fixtures of the Cop agenda and new, essential topics like health, trade, and relief, recovery, and peace”, he said.

Dr Al Jaber said the “north star” of his plan for the summit would be keeping the Paris Agreement target in reach of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

He said on Tuesday his plan had four pillars of fast-tracking the energy transition, fixing climate finance, focusing on people and livelihoods and emphasising inclusivity at the summit.

Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the President, said the Brussels ministerial summit demonstrated confidence in how the summit preparations are building to deliver a meaningful UN climate meeting in Dubai.

At Cop28 countries complete their first “global stocktake” of progress towards the 1.5°C goal. A fund for meeting the costs of climate disasters will also be a key part of the talks.

The president-designate said the stocktake “can be the turning point we need on climate action over this critical decade”.

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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?

The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.

A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.

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The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.

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This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.

Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)

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Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)

Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.

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Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.

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An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.

Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)

Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.

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What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

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If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

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Updated: July 14, 2023, 12:38 PM`