Cop28: UN summit seeks to settle debate over one word that has dominated climate talks for years
The stage is set for the UN climate negotiations, Cop28, to start in Dubai this week where the fight over cutting coal, oil and gas will once again heat up.
At the heart of the debate is one phrase: whether the final text - the Dubai climate pact that countries will be signing - will include a call for the “phase down” or “phase out” of fossil fuels.
To the outside world, this may seem a linguistic nuance but at negotiating tables, it has been one of the most hotly-debated issues in recent years and a reflection of the ideological tug-of-war among the nearly 200 countries who take part.
“Language and symbolism is the most important part of geopolitics,” says Aarti Khosla, director of Delhi-based climate think-tank Climate
