(Photo by: Martin Divíšek/EPA)
Key Highlights
- AI, indoor vertical farms on Mars, solar-powered "responsible" boats, and carbon emission reduction will be discussed at the COP28 climate meeting in Dubai.
- Sultan al-Jaber, COP28 president, has repeatedly said the summit will "take a new road," do "unprecedented" things, and have a "transformational" impact.
- The president of the UN climate summit advised ministers and negotiators at COP28's important final sessions to be open to compromise rather than predetermined. The climate talks have stalled over whether to phase out or reduce fossil fuels.
- Climate Analytics predicts 86bn tonnes of greenhouse gases will be released by 2050 if CCS underperforms, whereas Oxford University estimates that a large buildout and use of this technology will cost $1tn a year.
- Catherine Abreu, Destination Zero executive director, said that witnessing ministers from around the world debate phasing out fossil fuels was unfathomable two years ago.
The COP28 climate meeting in Dubai is expected to cover a wide range of topics, including artificial intelligence, indoor vertical farms on Mars, solar-powered "responsible" yachts, and methods for removing carbon emissions. Talks, activities, and demonstrations emphasise the need for mankind to innovate to solve the climate catastrophe over the course of two weeks.
According to COP28 president Sultan al-Jaber, the summit will "take a new road," do "unprecedented" things, and have a "transformational" impact, as he has continuously stated. The head of the UN climate summit has warned that ministers and negotiators attending the crucial final sessions of COP28 should not go into the discussions with predetermined positions or hard boundaries, but rather should be open to compromise. The climate negotiations have hit a stalemate over the question of whether to phase out or reduce fossil fuels.
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Climate Analytics warns that if CCS underperforms, 86 billion metric tonnes of greenhouse gases will be released by 2050, while Oxford University has determined that a substantial buildout and use of this technology will cost the world $1 trillion a year.
According to Oxford Net Zero executive director Steve Smith, the lack of urgency in decreasing emissions—2023 is going to set new heat and carbon pollution records—means no possibility should be discounted.
Still, the conversations have inspired a glimmer of hope. Destination Zero executive director Catherine Abreu said, “In eight years of attending climate talks, I have never felt more that we were talking about what really matters.” She also stated that hearing ministers from around the world discuss the reality of phasing out fossil fuels was unimaginable two years ago.