UN leaders push to end fossil fuels as COP28 nears conclusion
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00:00 Less than 48 hours left to arrive at a deal, COP28 President Sultan Ahmed al-Jubeir turned
00:06 to traditional Emirati methods to spur negotiators to consensus.
00:10 Expressing fear that the COP28 summit might end without an agreement, al-Jubeir on Sunday
00:15 convened a majlis, a gathering in which participants sit in a circle and try to resolve differences.
00:21 "Time has come for all parties to constructively engage and to come to me with that language.
00:31 I want everyone to show flexibility, to act with urgency and to find the common ground
00:39 we as COP28 Presidency have asked for."
00:42 Unlike most of the big group sessions, the majlis was closed to the public and media.
00:48 The success of the COP28 hinges on whether participants can agree on what to do about
00:53 fuels such as oil and coal that are causing climate change.
00:57 During the majlis, Saudi Arabia voiced its opposition to any phase-out or phase-down
01:02 of fossil fuels.
01:04 Iraq was more direct, saying that it was against any mention of global fossil fuel consumption
01:09 targets.
01:10 Nonetheless, a German representative said Saudi Arabia and Iraq were made aware that
01:15 the supermajority of the world disagreed with them.
01:17 "Therefore they obviously felt they needed to engage, whether it was a bit of panic,
01:23 whether it was a bit of realization of how far the discussions are."
01:27 The future of fossil fuels is not the only sticking point.
01:31 Developing countries maintain that richer countries, who have been largely responsible
01:35 for climate change, must pledge funds to help them adapt to it.
01:40 The money would not only be used for transitioning to green energy, but also for building infrastructure
01:45 such as storm warning systems or flood-proof bridges.