Live updates: Follow the latest news on Cop28
The UN's most senior climate official said governments needed to give their negotiators “clear marching orders” to step up ambition for the remainder of Cop28.
Simon Stiell said the talks on the crucial global stocktake had led to “a starting text on the table”.
“But it’s a grab bag of wish lists and heavy on posturing," he added. "The key now is to sort the wheat from the chaff.”
We need Cop to deliver a bullet train to speed up climate action
Simon Stiell
Negotiators are working day and night on the text that will assess where the world stands in limiting warming to 1.5ºC and chart the way forward.
There is a pause on Thursday during which the summit site will be mostly closed. On Friday, talks will intensify amid high expectations.
The draft text currently contains wording that includes everything from a sustained "phase down" of fossil fuels and coal to taking no action whatsoever.
Mr Stiell and other officials urged countries and their negotiating teams to use much firmer language that will be presented to close to 200 parties for approval next week.
Despite the UN making it clear that the world is way off track, Mr Stiell said the stocktake negotiating text at this year's Cop is vague.
It leaves options open on the contentious issue of trying to phase down or phase out the use of fossil fuels but mainly sets out building blocks for a future outcome, rather than confirming a nailed-down plan of action.
Mr Stiell said parties needed to come up with a clear statement of intent to signal the "terminal decline of the fossil-fuel era as we know it".
“At the end of next week, we need Cop to deliver a bullet train to speed up climate action,” he said. “We currently have an old caboose train chugging over rickety tracks."
Cop28 started strongly with the early adaptation of the agenda and the launch of the loss and damage fund. Mr Stiell acknowledged loss and damage progress had given Cop28 “a spring in its step” but it was only the start.
As of Wednesday, about $720 million had been pledged by governments but developing nations warn at least tens, if not hundreds, of billions will be needed.
Mr Stiell called for finance to be front and centre of the talks, noting that more needs to be done after the early successes of the summit at Expo City Dubai.
“Now all governments must give their negotiators clear marching orders: we need the highest ambition, not point-scoring or lowest common-denominator politics," he said.
"Loss and damage was a win but we’re kidding ourselves if we think it’s a tick in the box for finance and support at this Cop. More is required.
“We’ve said we’ll double adaptation finance – now we have to deliver, including on the details, and set ourselves up to go much further."
He urged parties not to lose sight of the "global goal for adaptation" that was mandated under the 2015 Paris deal and aims to scale up how counties can boost their resilience to climate-related damage.
"Eight billion people are on the front lines," said Mr Stiell. "Right now, only 50 countries have national adaptation plans."
Experienced lobbyist Kelly Dent, representing World Animal Protection at Cop28, told The National Mr Stiell’s efforts to rally negotiators were “not unusual at this stage in the process”.
“These things are evolving,” she said. "Just because we get a text, that doesn’t mean it’s the end of it. These things go on and on and on."
On Wednesday, US climate envoy John Kerry said it had been "a pretty damn good week" so far but the world must "emphatically accelerate the pace of emissions reductions".
Mr Kerry spoke at Cop28 shortly after Mr Stiell made his call for negotiators to up their game.
"I'm not telling you that everybody's going to come 'kumbaya' to the table," Mr Kerry said. "But I am telling you we're going to make a best effort to get the best agreement we can to move as far as we can, as fast as we can."
The UN’s leading climate expert Prof Jim Skea said Cop28 had made considerable progress in its first week.
Prof Skea, 70, is also the current chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The IPCC’s job is to distil the world’s knowledge and provide facts on what the science is telling us.
Prof Skea has spent his time in Dubai meeting leaders, discussing the IPCC's next review cycle and reminding people what that science says.
Asked in Dubai how the talks are shaping up, he said: “It’s a Cop that’s making progress.
“It isn’t a landmark like Paris or Glasgow but we’ve seen a lot of progress on the first day, with the loss and damage fund being established. So we definitely have seen achievements.”
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last 16, first leg
Ajax v Real Madrid, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
Poacher
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERichie%20Mehta%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nimisha%20Sajayan%2C%20Roshan%20Mathew%2C%20Dibyendu%20Bhattacharya%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
The biog
Favourite food: Fish and seafood
Favourite hobby: Socialising with friends
Favourite quote: You only get out what you put in!
Favourite country to visit: Italy
Favourite film: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Family: We all have one!
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20four-cyl%20turbo%20%2B%20mild%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E204hp%20at%205%2C800rpm%20%2B23hp%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C800rpm%20%2B205Nm%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E9-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7.3L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2FDecember%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh205%2C000%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
Understand What Black Is
The Last Poets
(Studio Rockers)
Royal wedding inspired menu
Ginger, citrus and orange blossom iced tea
Avocado ranch dip with crudites
Cucumber, smoked salmon and cream cheese mini club sandwiches
Elderflower and lemon syllabub meringue
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Traits of Chinese zodiac animals
Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
MATCH INFO
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
'Ashkal'
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Breast cancer in men: the facts
1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.
2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash.
3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible.
4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.
5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor
More on animal trafficking
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SPECS
Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
