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Environment

Why are COP28 fossil fuel talks held up and why does it matter?

As the climate negotiations reach their final hours, countries are still fundamentally divided on how to address the primary source of greenhouse gas emissions

By James Dinneen

11 December 2023

COP28 president Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber leading a plenary session

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Hopes of a strong stance from COP28 president Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber on phasing out the production and use of fossil fuels have been dashed at the climate summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A draft agreement on the world’s approach to fossil fuels includes no mention of phasing out the primary source of the greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change, leaving negotiators with only a day or so to reach a compromise across a divide even wider than expected.…

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