COP28 urged to deliver highest-ambition result

The United Nations climate chief on Monday called on all parties to deliver the "highest-ambition" outcome, as the climate conference in Dubai entered its final stretch.

"We do not have a minute to lose in this crucial home stretch," UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell told the media, adding there is still a chance for negotiators to "start a new chapter — one that really delivers for people and planet".

COP28, or the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, has gathered more than 110,000 registered participants in Dubai in a bid to work out a global solution to the pressing climate crisis facing all countries.

"The highest climate ambition means more jobs, stronger economies, stronger economic growth, less pollution, better health," Stiell said, adding that it also means "much more resilience, protecting people in every country from the climate wolves at our doors".

The reality is the highest-ambition outcomes are the only way "for all governments to leave Dubai with a win under their belt", he said, noting: "One thing is for certain: 'I win, you lose' is a recipe for collective failure", and ultimately there is 8 billion people's security that is at stake.

The UN climate chief also reemphasized the importance of finance, which "must be the bedrock to scale up climate action on all fronts".

Stiell said debates are lingering over two key issues: Countries' ambitions on climate crisis mitigation and their willingness to back up the transition ambitions with the proper means of support.

He called for clearing the unnecessary "tactical blockades" out of the way, rejecting incrementalism, and preserving and respecting every party's seat at the table, with key tenets being inclusion, representation and transparency, as well as putting the highest-ambition outcomes front and center, in order to get a meaningful deal.

According to him, the Global Stocktake needs to help all countries get out of the mess. "Any strategic land mines that blow it up for one, blow it up for all," he said.

COP28 President Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said on Sunday that parties were making progress in talks for reaching a consensus on issues at stake, but not fast enough.

Al Jaber on Monday announced the approval of a proposal to hold COP29, the 2024 UN climate summit, in Azerbaijan. The South Caucasus nation won the bid after winning backing from other Eastern European countries on Saturday.