<\/p>\n
The UN climate conference opened on Thursday with nations urged to make faster cuts to planet-warming emissions and phase out fossil fuels as scepticism swirls over the oil-rich United Arab Emirates hosting the talks.<\/p>\n
The two-week-long negotiations in a vast exhibition venue in Dubai come at a pivotal moment, with emissions still climbing and the UN saying this year is likely to be the hottest in human history<\/a>.<\/p>\n World leaders, Britain\u2019s King Charles III and activists and lobbyists are among more than 97,000 people jetting into the flashy Gulf city, which boasts the world\u2019s tallest skyscraper, one of its busiest airports, and an indoor ski slope.<\/p>\n Double the size of last year\u2019s conference, COP28 is billed as the largest-ever climate gathering and the UN and hosts the UAE say they will be the most important since Paris 2015<\/a>.<\/p>\n There, nations agreed to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius since the pre-industrial era, and preferably to a safer limit of 1.5C.<\/p>\n But scientists say the world is off-track, and the nearly 200 nations gathering for COP28 must commit to accelerating climate action or risk the worst impacts of a warming planet.<\/p>\n UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said leaders should aim for a complete \u201cphaseout\u201d of fossil fuels, a proposal opposed by some powerful nations that has dogged past negotiations.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, I am strongly in favour of language that includes (a) phaseout, even with a reasonable time framework,\u201d Guterres told AFP<\/em> before flying to Dubai.<\/p>\n A central focus will be a stocktake of the world\u2019s limited progress on curbing global warming, which requires an official response at these talks.<\/p>\n On Thursday, nations are expected to formally approve the launch of a \u201closs and damage\u201d fund to compensate climate-vulnerable countries after a year of hard-fought negotiations over how it would work.<\/p>\n Hosts under fire<\/h2>\n