After a rest day on Thursday, COP28 resumed on Friday 8 December for Week 2 of the global climate summit in Dubai.

The second week is the critical week for COPs as it is when government officials negotiate the text of the final agreement. All eyes will be on what the agreement will say about fossil fuels, whether ‘phased out’ or ‘phased down’.

Today at COP28 was dedicated to “youth, children, education and skills”. Negotiations will continue over the weekend, focussing on nature on Saturday and on food, agriculture and water on Sunday.  

COP28 in numbers

$57 billion: The number of financial pledges made so far at this COP.

50: the percentage by which Dubai plans to cut carbon emissions by the end of this decade, compared with 2018 levels.

118: the number of governments that have now pledged to triple the world’s renewable energy capacity by 2030 as part of the Global Pledge on Renewables and Energy Efficiency (China and India did not join).

9: the number of new countries now signed up to the Powering Past Coal Alliance, the group of nations pledging to phase out “unabated” coal power first founded at COP26 in Glasgow.

4: the number of new countries – including Spain, Kenya, Samoa and Columbia – to have joined the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance group pledging to phase out all fossil fuels.

Definitions

Unabated  - “doing nothing to remove carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from oil, natural gas and coal emissions.” (New York Times). This word will appear with increasing frequency during the negotiations this week, with some commentators saying it could ‘determine the world's future’.

Youth-washing  - Similar to greenwashing, this term describes the practice of showboating young voices but not paying attention to them.

Watch or listen

The Zero podcast from Bloomberg with Akshat Rathi who interviewed Al Gore on how to break the stranglehold petrostates have over COP. Gore also explains why big emitters can no longer hide.

Find more news on the global climate summit our our COP28 page on Chartered Accountants Ireland's sustainability centre.