Thursday briefing
A global climate agreement
After two weeks of furious debate, diplomats from almost 200 countries reached a sweeping agreement at the UN climate summit in Dubai that explicitly called for ‘the transition away from fossil fuels’.
The deal calls for countries to completely stop adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by mid-century, to triple the amount of renewable energy installed around the world by 2030 and to cut emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas .
For insight, we turned to our colleague Lisa Friedman, who was in Dubai covering the COP28 summit.
What was different about this climate summit?
Lisa: Holding a conference in a petrostate was never going to be easy. But as someone who has now covered twelve of these COPs, I think it was very eye-opening. Every day we were confronted with the oil loot all around us.
At the same time, you see the stark contrast between small island leaders and others who are essentially telling the UAE and the Saudis that their luxury comes at the expense of the survival of the island states. To me, the location of the summit really underlines all the needs of different countries that the UN has to balance.
How did the agreement come about?
European leaders and many of the countries most vulnerable to climate-induced extreme weather events pushed for language calling for a complete “phase-out” of fossil fuels. But this was met with opposition from major oil producers led by Saudi Arabia. Ultimately, they found a middle ground.
What do countries think about the agreement?
It left some – especially island leaders – deeply dissatisfied. In fact, many island leaders said they did not even have a chance to offer changes or express their concerns before Sultan Al Jaber, the Emirates’ oil director who chaired the conference, adopted the decision and declared it by consensus.
At the same time, it is notable that it took 28 of these annual climate change conferences before governments were willing to address the elephant in the room – fossil fuels – whose combustion is the main cause of planetary warming.
What is your main takeaway from the final agreement?
The decision was a compromise and should be viewed as such. But it’s an important one. Many leaders have said this sends a signal that the age of fossil fuels is coming to an end, something I couldn’t imagine this body doing even five years ago.
Netanyahu’s break with Biden
A disagreement with the US over what a post-war Gaza Strip should look like poses risks for the Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – including the amount of aid it can hope to receive, analysts said. But it also offers Netanyahu an opportunity to restore his domestic approval ratings by presenting himself as a leader who will not bend to foreign demands.
Israeli officials signaled they would not be deterred by mounting condemnation from the international community, a day after President Biden highlighted the risk of losing support. Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, is expected to arrive in Jerusalem this week to discuss the war and its possible aftermath with Netanyahu.
Analysis: “He is looking at a possible election campaign in a few months,” Itamar Rabinovich, a former Israeli ambassador to the US, said of Netanyahu. “This will be his platform: ‘I am the leader who can stand up to Biden and prevent a Palestinian state.’”
Related: The families of eight Americans still held by Hamas in Gaza had their first face-to-face meeting with Biden yesterday.
A new urgency grips Ukraine
With the counter-offensive having failed and supplies and support dwindling, Ukraine finds itself at a crucial juncture as Moscow – once faced with the consequences of a disastrous invasion – celebrates its ability to sustain a protracted war.
Ukraine must now adopt a defensive posture as it braces for a harsh winter of Russian attacks and energy shortages. The US, the main donor, is preoccupied with the war in Gaza, and the possible return to office of Donald Trump, who has been negative for Ukraine for years, looms.
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A new era of surveillance?
Brian Chen, who writes the Tech Fix column for The Times, has been secretly taking photos and videos of passersby over the past two weeks. “I didn’t hide the camera,” he writes, “but I wore it and no one noticed.”
Brian was testing the recently released $300 Ray-Ban Meta glasses, created from a partnership between the eyewear maker and the company formerly known as Facebook. As part of a wider ambition to shift computing from screens to our faces, the high-tech glasses include a camera for taking photos and videos, and an array of speakers and microphones.
But after wearing them “pretty much non-stop” for weeks, Brian was relieved when he was able to remove them. Read more about why.