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COP28: UN climate talks in jeopardy in fossil fuel backlash
The UN climate talks in Dubai could be in jeopardy after some nations reacted furiously to a draft deal on fossil fuels they call “weak”.
The draft removed language included in a previous text suggesting that fossil fuels could be “phased out”.
All 198 countries at the summit must agree or there is no deal.
Humans burning fossil fuels is driving global warming, risking millions of lives, but governments have never agreed how or when to stop using them.
A representative for the European Union called the draft “unacceptable” and said the bloc could walk away. “We can’t accept the text,” said minister Eamon Ryan, a negotiator for the EU and Ireland’s environment minister. But he added that the collapse of the talks is “not the outcome the world needs”.
Politicians, including from nations on the frontline of climate change, have been in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to discuss the growing problem in a year that is set to be the warmest on record.
The question of what to do about greenhouse gas emissions from burning oil, coal and gas have dominated the talks.
Expectations were low that the controversial COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber could deliver a strong deal on fossil fuels because he is also CEO of the Abu Dhabi oil giant Adnoc.
But countries that want a rapid end to fossil fuels had grown optimistic as Jaber appeared to say he backed a “phase out” of fossil fuels.
A draft text published on Saturday confirmed that one option for the talks outcome was a “phase out of fossil fuels in line with best available science”.
Questions remained over when this would happen and whether it would rely on the use of expensive and experimenta; technology to store the carbon dioxide released when fossil fuels are burned.
On Monday, another draft was published that deleted mentions of “phase out”. Instead it said nations should “reduce consumption and production of fossil fuels in a just, orderly and equitable manner”.
While the changes in language can seem small, slight differences in UN documents can significantly change what countries are obliged to do. Many nations appear to have had just an hour to look at the text before a meeting of all governments was called.
Countries on the front line of climate change – places where sea-level rises are already destroying homes and storms are killing people – condemned the draft deal.
“We will not sign our death certificate,” said a representative for the Alliance of Small Island States, adding it would not agree to a text without “strong commitments on phasing out fossil fuels”.
Sultan al-Jaber, the COP28 president, said the text reflected his ambitions and called it a “huge step forward”.
(BBC)
Many people in and around the Italian city of Naples have spent the night on the streets and in their cars after an earthquake shook buildings and brought rubble crashing down.
Italian seismologists said the 4.4 magnitude tremor struck at 01:25 local time on Thursday (00:25 GMT) at a shallow depth of three kilometres (two miles). The US Geological Survey measured it as a 4.2 tremor 10km deep.
Power supply in parts of Naples was disrupted.
In the nearby town of Pozzuoli, close to the quake’s epicentre, one injured person was pulled from the rubble of a partially collapsed house.
Naples sits on the Phlegraean Fields, a volcanic basin that makes the area in southern Italy prone to quakes.
Thursday’s earthquake was felt in several areas of the Campania region, Italian media reported. The tremor was followed by at least two weaker aftershocks.
People have been seen leaving their homes and gathering on the streets of Naples, fearing more tremors.
Photos later emerged showing one damaged house and a car with a smashed windscreen.
A rescue co-ordination centre has been set up to assess the damage.
Schools in Pozzuoli and two nearby neighbourhoods will be closed on Thursday so building stability checks can be carried out, the Corriere Della Sera newspaper reported.
US officials are headed to Russia to discuss a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, according to President Donald Trump.
The news comes after Ukrainian officials agreed to a 30-day ceasefire following a highly anticipated meeting with US officials in Saudi Arabia.
Earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the “ball is truly in Russia’s court” and that the US believes the only way to end the fighting was through peace negotiations.
The American visit comes as President Vladimir Putin visited Russia’s Kursk region – parts of which have been under Ukraine’s control since an incursion last year.
Russian TV aired footage of Putin meeting military commanders, who told him Russian troops had recaptured 86% of the area from Ukraine.
Following the meeting in Jeddah on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was now up to the US to convince Russia to agree to the “positive” proposal.
The Kremlin has said it was studying the ceasefire deal, and that a phone call between Trump and Putin is possible.
Speaking alongside Ireland’s Taoiseach – or Prime Minister – Micheál Martin in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said he had received “positive messages” about the possibility of a ceasefire. “But a positive message means nothing,” he said. “This is a very serious situation.”
Trump did not specify which officials were travelling to Moscow.
However, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House that National Security Secretary Mike Waltz had spoken to his Russian counterpart.
Earlier this week, a source familiar with the matter told the BBC that Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff would head to Moscow for negotiations following the talks in Jeddah.
The White House confirmed the plans on Wednesday.
“We urge the Russians to sign on to this plan. This is the closest we have been to peace in this war,” Leavitt said.
The Kremlin has said it is studying the proposed ceasefire and further details, which spokesman Dmitry Peskov said will come “via various channels” over the course of the next several days.
In the Oval Office, Trump said that he believes a ceasefire would make sense for Russia, adding – without further details – that there is a “lot of downside to Russia” as well.
“We have a very complex situation solved on one side. Pretty much solved. We’ve also discussed land and other things that go with it,” Trump added. “We know the areas of land we’re talking about, whether it’s pull back or not pull back.”
To pressure Russia, Trump said that he “can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia,” he said. “I don’t want to do that because I want to get peace.”
The meeting in Jeddah was the first between US and Ukrainian officials since a 28 February meeting between Zelensky, Trump and Vice-President JD Vance descended into a shouting match and, ultimately, a pause in US military assistance and intelligence sharing.
The pause was lifted following the meeting in Jeddah, and Trump said that he believes that the “difficult” Ukrainian side and Zelensky now want peace.
Even as negotiations over a potential ceasefire are ongoing, fighting has raged in Ukraine.
Russian drones and missiles reportedly struck targets in Kryvyy Rih – Zelensky’s hometown – overnight, as well as in the port city of Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv.
Clashes also continued in Russia’s Kursk region, where Peskov said Russian troops were “successfully advancing” and recapturing areas held by Ukrainian forces.
Ukrainian troops invaded the region of western Russia that borders Ukraine, in a surprise attack in August last year. At its peak, Ukraine claimed to have captured 100 towns and villages – but since then, Russia has retaken most of that territory.
He was shown in footage released by the Kremlin walking alongside his military chief Valery Gerasimov.
Russian media report that Putin ordered the military to “fully liberate” the region during the visit. He is yet to comment on the ceasefire proposal agreed by Ukraine and the US on Tuesday.
The head of Ukraine’s military, Oleksandr Syrsky, also indicated on Wednesday that some of its troops were withdrawing from Kursk. In a post on Telegram, he said: “In the most difficult situation, my priority has been and remains saving the lives of Ukrainian soldiers.”
[BBC]
Cricket Canada CEO Salman Khan, who was appointed in the job in January this year, has dismissed reports on his alleged arrest and release on bail on charges of theft and fraud as “completely false”. He, along with one other individual, had been charged earlier this month with theft and fraud by the Calgary Police in relation to his earlier role as president of the Calgary and District Cricket League between 2014 and 2016.
It is understood that initially the case was a civil suit, but now criminal charges have been laid.
Khan, posting on the Facebook page of Alberta Cricket Association, said: “I see many fake and self-created posts circulating around, and I want to set the record straight. First of all, these are all fake. I have never been arrested, detained, or on any bail. These claims are completely false, and those spreading these rumors will have to answer for it.
“Here’s the truth: A police complaint was filed against me more than 7 years ago. A police investigator approached me and said he wanted to hear my side of the story and see the evidence I have to defend myself. He told me that if I didn’t provide my side, he would proceed with charges. I told him I would visit after Ramadan, but he didn’t want to wait and decided to post charges without even hearing my side or my evidence.”
Khan said nothing had been proven against him in seven years, and he would keep fighting the case. “Let me make this clear: They have nothing to prove against me – in 7 years they were not able to prove anything in the civil case, and certainly not in any criminal case. I have over 21 transcripts, with the complainant even admitting that everything was false.
“I am not worried at all. I’m ready to fight just like I’ve been doing for the past 8 years.”
[Cricinfo]
Naples residents camp outdoors after overnight quake
US team headed to Moscow for Ukraine talks as Putin visits Kursk
Cricket Canada CEO says reports on his alleged arrest ‘completely false’
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