By Will Kennedy, Bloomberg News
The most important visitor to the UAE today didn’t come anywhere near the Blue Zone. Vladimir Putin made his first trip to the Middle East since he invaded Ukraine and energy was top of the list.
His touchdown right in the middle of the biggest diplomatic event the UAE has ever hosted – where a pledge to phase down fossil fuels is the key negotiating call for many – was a real-world demonstration of the primacy the black stuff still holds in the region’s affairs. The Russian president plans to stop off in Riyadh, too, as the three OPEC+ heavyweights try to demonstrate unity.
Back at the Expo, most delegates were focused on tomorrow’s mid-COP rest day – a break from the thousands of steps racked up daily walking to, from, and around the giant site. People were debating whether to hit the beach, the giant Dubai Mall or take an 800-meter ride up the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.
Business resumes on Friday and the second week of COP is where the negotiations take center stage. There are plenty of fights ahead. As well as the inclusion of language on the phase down of fossil fuels, COP28 CEO Adnan Amin told Bloomberg News there’s a lot of work still to do on climate finance and adaptation as the presidency tries to bridge gaps between the priorities of advanced and developing economies.
For all the anxiety about the role of fossil fuels, the UAE’s fondness for splashy announcements, and the creeping commerciality of COP, there have been significant moments in the first week.
Loss and damage got done on day one, the pledge to triple renewables has momentum and, if it’s followed through, a package on methane could mean material reductions in emissions.
America’s John Kerry has been an energetic presence all week and the veteran politician struck an upbeat tone at a mid-afternoon presser.
“We’ve had a pretty damn good week here in Dubai already,” he said. “We have some tough issues next week, but I think we have people of good faith who know that this is an international negotiation of consequence. And people will measure who steps up.”
| More from COP |
| Kerry backs a fossil fuel phase out. The world also needs carbon capture technology to reach net zero climate targets by mid-century, the US climate envoy says. Russia welcomes a US-led nuclear power capacity push. “Without nuclear energy it is impossible to achieve climate goals,” Deputy Economy Minister Vladimir Ilyichev says. Do you know your NDCs from CCS? From the “Paris Agreement” to “peak emissions” and the “global stocktake,” here’s everything you need to know but have been too afraid to ask. |
| More from Bloomberg |
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