COP28 Wrap-Up: Top 5 stories from the summit

The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the main decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The world's highest decision-making process on climate issues, COP28 hosting over 70,000 delegates, concludes today, December 12.

Moneycontrol brings you the top stories from the summit.

New COP28 draft deal stops short of fossil fuel 'phase out'

At COP28, a draft of a potential climate deal suggested ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but did not include the "phase-out" of fossil fuels, drawing criticism from the US, EU, and vulnerable countries. The summit has exposed international divisions on whether oil, gas, and coal should be part of a climate-friendly future. A coalition of 100+ countries pushing to end the oil age faces opposition from OPEC. Read here

COP28 & Climate Challenges: ‘Clear that we’re not on track,' says ReNew’s Sumant Sinha

Sumant Sinha, founder and chairman of ReNew Energy Global, announced that the company had secured debt financing totalling $5.3 billion through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Asian Development Bank (ADB). This financing will enable ReNew to expand its planned capacity and new businesses. In an exclusive interview with Moneycontrol from Dubai, where he is participating in the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), Sinha also spoke about the role of corporations in achieving climate goals. He noted that the conference's first-ever stocktaking clarified that the world may miss its target to cap global warming. Watch here

Saudi Arabia tells COP28 to take its 'perspectives' into account

Saudi Arabia is rejecting a fossil fuel phase-out at the COP28 climate talks. The country raised its perspectives and concerns at the meeting of delegates. They urged participants to address emissions reduction while considering their concerns. Riyadh received public support from Baghdad, with an Iraqi representative also rejecting any mention of a fossil fuel phase-out in a final deal. Read more, here.

Arab OPEC ministers meet in Doha as COP28 discusses phasing out oil and gas

Arab energy ministers from OPEC have arrived in Doha for the 12th Arab Energy Conference. Meanwhile, countries are clashing over a possible agreement to phase out fossil fuels at the UN's COP28 climate summit. OPEC Secretary General, Haitham Al Ghais, urged OPEC members to reject any COP28 deal targeting fossil fuels instead of emissions, in a letter dated Dec. 6 seen by Reuters.

Sultan Al Jaber, ADNOC's chief and president of COP28, supports reducing fossil fuels with a tailored approach for each region. Saudi Arabia and Russia, among others, want the conference to address emissions rather than fossil fuels. Qatar has invested billions in its LNG industry despite initial scepticism.

COP28 is turning into a trade show. And that’s not a bad thing

Since the Industrial Revolution, our civilisation has been built around fossil fuels. Fixing the resultant emissions can be likened to digging out the foundations of the global economy and resetting them on a new, cleaner footing. It’s an extraordinary stroke of luck that we now have most of the technologies needed to not only achieve this objective but to do so at a lower cost than the carbon-intensive alternative. Getting that new economy built, however, is going to involve one of the biggest splurges of peacetime investment the world has ever seen. Here's an opinion piece by  DAVID FICKLING.