Live updates: Follow the latest news on Cop28
Cop28 has hit the pause button and Thursday is an official rest day – but there's still plenty more to come.
The conference started strongly with a historic loss and damage deal agreed to, leading to optimism all over the world that breakthroughs could be made at Dubai's Expo City.
So what has happened so far and what can we expect when the summit resumes on Friday?
Major announcements and billions of dollars in finance
Eleven pledges and declarations on vital areas such as food, peace and recovery, renewable energy and efficiency, methane and decarbonising heavy emitting industries dominated the first few days. The food declaration, for example, was signed by more than 100 countries and seeks to put climate at the heart of agriculture.
Scaling up climate finance is also critical in tackling climate change, with the Cop presidency on Wednesday stating more than $80 billion has been mobilised so far, including funds pledged for loss and damage.
Respecting the science and answering sceptics
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Cop28 President, on Monday said he and the presidency “respect the science” and understand the urgent need for climate action.
He reiterated the long-standing position that the “north star” of the presidency was keeping 1.5ºC within reach.
Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, also said the UAE was answering its sceptics at Cop28 while changing international perceptions about what the country stands for.
Climate talks take centre stage
Negotiators are now working long into the night, particularly on the global stocktake. This will assess how the world is doing in its goal – agreed to in Paris in 2015 – of keeping global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
Several iterations have been issued so far. It is a basic text and subject to change but it did leave open several options on the future of fossil fuels.
“There are areas where a lot of the text has been agreed but there are other negotiations that are a little bit more difficult,” said Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster, Samoa’s Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Lands.
“Overall I’d say not too bad.”
Fossil fuels: phase out, phase down and what unabated means
One of the key issues at this summit is the future of fossil fuels, the primary driver of global emissions.
The Cop28 presidency has called on parties to come forward with language on fossil fuels.
Dr Al Jaber on Monday said the “phase down” and “phase out” of fossil fuels was “inevitable” – the farthest he has gone so far in addressing this.
More than 100 countries, including the US and the EU, have already said they want to see a phase out of fossil fuels. Hard talks lie ahead as countries such as Russia and Saudi Arabia have been historically resistant to such language.
Unabated – meaning fossil fuels used without carbon capture technologies – also keeps cropping up, but many experts say carbon capture has yet to be proven at scale.
How is the summit going?
“It’s a story of the glass being both half full and half empty,” said Tim Benton, research director at Chatham House, where he leads the environment and society centre. “Attendees are also simultaneously hopeful and depressed.”
Prof Benton said the loss and damage win, scaling up renewables and the declarations were reason to hope but many areas are “mired in tensions, with little progress towards what many hope will an ambitious final negotiated text”.
The second week of Cop28 will also see the presidency take a more active role in the process.
It will identify areas where work needs to be done, help parties find common ground and try to guide the talks to a successful outcome on Tuesday.
What kind of final decision can we expect?
Cops tend to feature what is known as a cover decision – typically an announcement made at the end that outlines what has been achieved. Last year’s included an agreement to establish a loss and damage fund.
This year, we know parties are working on the stocktake text. It is seen as increasingly likely that this will be the main outcome from Cop28. Although a separate cover decision cannot be ruled out at this stage. Cop28 might also see a separate political declaration on the stocktake but this is unconfirmed.
“The global stocktake is the centrepiece of the Cop outcome and will carry the most politically important messages to the world,” said Tom Evans, climate change expert at think tank E3G.
“At Cop27 in Egypt and before that at Cop26 in Glasgow, those were the so-called ‘cover texts’ – and this year at Cop28, it looks like the global stocktake decision is essentially serving that function.”
Will Cop28 go into an extra day?
Cop28 is due to finish on December 12, but Cops are notorious for overshooting this deadline. Cop27 in Sharm El Sheikh, for example, was expected to finish on a Friday but did not end until early on Sunday.
It is difficult to assess now if Cop28 will take this trajectory but it should become clearer by early next week.
“Next week will be long, hard and fractious,” said Prof Benton. “But there remains a lot to play for.”
England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
The finalists
Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho
Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson
Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)
Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid
Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola
England Test squad
Ben Stokes (captain), Joe Root, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts
The specs
Engine: 1.4-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 180hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 250Nm at 3,00rpm
Transmission: 5-speed sequential auto
Price: From Dh139,995
On sale: now
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
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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
The%20specs
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Co%20Chocolat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Iman%20and%20Luchie%20Suguitan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Food%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%241%20million-plus%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fahad%20bin%20Juma%2C%20self-funding%2C%20family%20and%20friends%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
MATCH INFO
Southampton 0
Manchester City 1 (Sterling 16')
Man of the match: Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
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
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The details
Colette
Director: Wash Westmoreland
Starring: Keira Knightley, Dominic West
Our take: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
MATCH INFO
Watford 1 (Deulofeu 80' p)
Chelsea 2 (Abraham 5', Pulisic 55')
The bio
Favourite food: Japanese
Favourite car: Lamborghini
Favourite hobby: Football
Favourite quote: If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough
Favourite country: UAE
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
Ibrahim's play list
Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute
Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc
Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar
His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach
Also enjoys listening to Mozart
Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz
Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica
Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
