A Record Number of Fossil Fuel Lobbyists Are Attending COP28, Watchdogs Say |
According to provisional registration numbers, at least 2,456 lobbyists are attending this year’s UN climate change conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, underscoring the tensions (The Guardian) around the fossil fuel industry’s role in global warming. The figure was calculated by watchdog groups Corporate Accountability, Corporate Europe Observatory, and Global Witness. A commitment for countries to phase out fossil fuels in an “orderly and just” way appeared in optional draft language (Reuters) for the conference’s final deal published today, prompting Saudi Arabia’s energy minister to say the country and many others would “absolutely not” agree (AFP) to such a deal. Fossil fuel lobbyists make up more than the combined total representatives from the ten most climate vulnerable countries; they also outnumber Indigenous representatives by seven to one.
Meanwhile, scientists from the Global Carbon Project announced at COP28 today that in 2023, 1.1 percent more heat-trapping carbon dioxide was pumped into the air (AP) than in 2022. China, India, and global aviation were the top three causes of the increase; outside of China and India, the world’s fossil fuel emissions decreased by 419 million metric tons.
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“At climate change summits, world leaders tend to agree on almost everything except what could help the most: directly addressing rising carbon emissions by making them expensive for emitters,” the International Peace Institute’s Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein and the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Farrukh Iqbal Khan write for Foreign Affairs. “By now, however, there is abundant proof that pricing carbon dramatically lowers emissions and even economically benefits the societies that do it.”
“Whether the conference’s final communiqué includes meaningful language around reducing reliance on fossil fuels will be an important indicator of oil producers’ climate credibility,” Bloomberg’s Christine Driscoll, Akshat Rathi, and Aaron Rutkoff write.
This Backgrounder by Lindsay Maizland unpacks the successes and failures of global climate agreements.
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Remains of Five Additional People Found After U.S. Osprey Aircraft Crashed Near Japan |
The underwater discoveries bring the total death toll (Kyodo) to six in last week’s crash of an Osprey military aircraft off the coast of southwest Japan, making it the deadliest event involving U.S. Ospreys. Two crew members remain unaccounted for. U.S./Asia Pacific: Washington plans to begin arming (Bloomberg) Pacific submarines with Tomahawk missiles that can attack ships as part of plans to counter Chinese military capabilities, especially in the area around Taiwan, a U.S. naval official said.
This episode of the Why It Matters podcast discusses Taiwan, China, and the threat of war.
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UN Calls for Rescue of Estimated Four Hundred People Adrift in Indian Ocean |
Most of the people in two boats stranded in the Andaman Sea are thought to be members (NYT) of the persecuted Rohingya minority, the UN refugee agency said. It estimates that nearly six thousand people, many Rohingya, have made dangerous maritime journeys away from Bangladesh or Myanmar since November 2022.
U.S./India: U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer held talks in New Delhi (India Today) yesterday over the ongoing probe of what Washington says was Indian state involvement in an assassination plot on U.S. soil. The talks also covered a bilateral initiative on critical and emerging technologies.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Netanyahu’s Corruption Trial Resumes in Israel |
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trial on charges of bribery, breach of trust, and fraud had been suspended (Times of Israel) along with all other court cases immediately following Palestinian militant group Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, but most courts have now been ordered to resume normal operations after an emergency order expired last week.
U.S./Middle East: The United States is in talks (AP) with its allies in the Middle East about creating a task force to escort commercial ships in the Red Sea in the wake of three missile attacks yesterday claimed by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.
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Niger Junta Scraps Two Military Cooperation Deals With European Union |
Niger had been a major European security partner in Africa’s Sahel region before the country’s July coup. The announcement yesterday to end the cooperation deals (AP) came after Niger’s junta hosted Russian officials on Sunday. This In Brief by CFR’s Mariel Ferragamo explains the implications of Niger’s coup for Western countries.
Nigeria: Authorities are investigating an accidental military drone strike on a Muslim festival in northwest Kaduna State that residents said killed at least eighty-five people (AFP) on Sunday. The president’s office said the incident was “unfortunate, disturbing, and painful.”
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WaPo: Disputes Over Tactics Held up U.S.-Ukraine Communication in Counteroffensive |
For weeks during the early part of Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia this year, the commander of U.S. forces in Europe could not get in touch with Ukraine’s top battlefield commander amid disagreements over war tactics, the Washington Post reported. Among those disputes, Washington reportedly wanted Ukraine (WaPo) to carry out a single line of attack against Russian forces, while Ukraine wanted to focus on three different targets.
Rwanda/UK: United Kingdom (UK) Interior Minister James Cleverly is visiting Rwanda today (Reuters) to launch a new plan to curb migration to the UK by sending asylum seekers to Rwanda after a previous attempt was blocked by the Supreme Court. The UK seeks a commitment from Rwanda that Kigali would not expel asylum seekers it receives.
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Justice Department Accuses Former U.S. Diplomat of Being a Cuban Mole for Decades |
Former U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia Manuel Rocha acted as a “clandestine agent” (WaPo) for Cuba, which the FBI confirmed in an undercover sting operation, according to an indictment unsealed yesterday. Rocha was arrested and now faces up to ten years in prison if convicted of the most serious charges.
Mexico: In a December 1 memo, the head of Mexico’s immigration agency ordered a halt (AP) on migrant deportations and transfers southward in the country, citing a lack of funding during a record year of migration through Mexico. Previously, the government had been busing migrants who reached areas near the U.S.-Mexico border to those farther south in the country in order to relieve pressure on border cities.
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U.S. Teens’ Math Performance Drops to Levels Lower Than Twenty Years Previous in Global Exam |
The math performance of U.S. fifteen-year-olds is lower than that of students (NYT) in similar industrialized democracies, such as Australia and Germany, according to results from the 2022 Program for International Student Assessment test released today. Last year was the first time the test was administered since 2018. The United States scored above the international average in reading and science.
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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