The Guardian

UK prime minister attacked for inconsistency after allowing more gas and oil exploration in the North Sea

Rishi Sunak has been accused of hypocrisy on the international stage after pushing for a phase-out of fossil fuels at the UN Cop28 climate summit in Dubai – weeks after backing more oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.

The prime minister’s lack of “consistency” over climate policy was ridiculed by several senior Conservatives, as well as the former US vice president Al Gore, while members of other international delegations said the UK’s incoherent approach meant it was no longer a global leader on climate issues.

Total of 16,245 hospitals at high risk by end of century unless fossil fuels phased out, analysts say

One in 12 hospitals worldwide are at risk of total or partial shutdown from extreme weather events without a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels, a new report warns.

A total of 16,245 hospitals, twice as many as are currently at high risk, will be in this category by the end of the century without a change in pace, according to a report released on Saturday by Cross Dependency Initiative (XDI), a climate risk analyst. It adds that a residential or commercial building with this level of risk would be considered uninsurable.

US vice-president, deputising for Joe Biden, tells summit that world faces a ‘pivotal moment’ in the climate crisis

The world is facing a “pivotal moment” in the climate crisis, Kamala Harris has told the Cop28 summit after the US vowed to phase out coal plants and slash methane emissions, but also came under attack for meagre assistance to developing countries and for its own booming oil and gas extraction industry.

The US vice-president, deputising for Joe Biden – who skipped the UN climate talks – said Biden’s administration had made the “largest climate investment in the history of our country, and some have said the world” via the Inflation Reduction Act.

Protesters have been using canoes and dinghies to obstruct deep sea mining exploration vessel between Mexico and Hawaii

Deep sea miners have turned water hoses on Greenpeace activists attempting to block their prospecting in the Pacific Ocean, according to footage released by the NGO.

For the past week, an international team of Greenpeace activists have been using canoes and dinghies to obstruct the Coco, a deep sea mining exploration vessel, as it collects data to file for a mining permit for waters between Mexico and Hawaii.

Regulations would cut equivalent of 1.5bn metric tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2038, head of EPA says at Cop28

• Cop28 live – latest updates

The United States has announced a major crackdown on methane emissions as part of a new effort by several countries at the Cop28 summit to curb the “super pollutant” that is responsible for turbocharging the climate crisis.

The US has used the climate conference, which is administered by the UN and being held in Dubai, to unveil new regulations it estimates will cut methane emissions from its vast oil and gas industry by 80% from levels that would be expected without the rule, a total of 58m tonnes by 2038.

Brazilian president’s plans to approve new fossil fuel projects sit awkwardly with pledge to meet 1.5C target

The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has roared into Cop28 with a mega-delegation of more than 2,000 people and grand ambitions to address inequality and protect the world’s tropical forests.

Lula, as he is known, said his country was leading by example: “We have adjusted our climate goals, which are now more ambitious than those of many developed countries. We have drastically reduced deforestation in the Amazon and will bring it to zero by 2030,” he said.

Colombian president Gustavo Petro wants treaty to lay out plan to end era of coal, oil and gas

• Cop28 live – latest updates

Colombia has formally joined an alliance of nations calling for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty to prevent the “omnicide of planet Earth”, the country’s president announced at Cop28.

At the climate summit in Dubai, Gustavo Petro has said his country would join a group of nations calling for a new body to manage a global transition away from the primary driver of global heating, akin to previous treaties to reduce nuclear weapon arsenals and landmines.

Cop28: Can fossil fuel companies transition to clean energy?
On Tuesday 5 December, 8pm-9.15pm GMT, join Damian Carrington, Christiana Figueres, Tessa Khan and Mike Coffin for a livestreamed discussion on whether fossil fuel companies can transition to clean energy. Book tickets here or at theguardian.live

Fatih Birol says fossil fuel use will peak in 2030, and urges companies to lead switch to green energy

• Cop28 live – latest updates

Oil and gas producers must convert their operations to renewable energy or face steep economic decline, the world’s chief energy adviser has said amid the forging of a new alliance of energy companies at the UN Cop28 climate summit.

Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, said: “We have to find a way to reduce fossil fuel consumption, and as such there is an important role that the oil and gas industry can play. I very much hope that they can show in Dubai that they can be part of the solution when it comes to tackling climate change.”

World’s militaries produce at least 5.5% of emissions, as evidence mounts that climate crisis puts regions at greater risk of war

Wealthy nations should divert 5% of their military budgets to climate finance, advocates argue.

The call comes as global leaders at Cop28 in Dubai gather for a special-themed day on “relief, recovery, and peace” on Sunday, marking the first time climate-fueled conflict has ever been on an international climate conference agenda.

Hosts the UAE will hope that more countries use their speeches to pledge money to the newly approved loss and damage fund

Good morning! This is Alan Evans, bringing you coverage from the third day of the UN’s Cop28 climate summit.

The Guardian will be liveblogging the negotiations throughout. You can email me on alan.evans@theguardian.com or on X/Twitter at @itsalanevans, and my colleague Ajit Niranjan (ajit.niranjan@theguardian.com) will take over later on.

World leaders, particularly those from developing countries at the forefront of the climate crises, begged large economies and emitters to take urgent action both to reduce emissions and fund loss and damage

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak declared to the conference that he had watered down climate policy in the UK, drawing anger from politicians and climate experts who said he had “misread the room”

UK opposition leader Keir Starmer accused Sunak of “shrinking and retreating” from showcasing leadership on the global stage at Cop28 and over the climate crisis

A new UN report found that droughts are a planetary emergency causing widespread famine, and that they are a silent, often ignored, killer

Brazil’s president, Lula, outlined that it is not possible to tackle the climate crisis without also tackling inequality. He spoke of climate suffering in the Amazon, which is experiencing one of the “most tragic droughts in its history” while cyclones in the south of Brazil have left a trail “of destruction and death”.

The UK’s King Charles III opened the conference, and warned in his speech that “unless we rapidly repair and restore nature’s economy, based on harmony and balance, which is our ultimate sustainer, our own economy and survivability will be imperilled.”

Just like oil and gas businesses, and petro-states, carbon-intensive industries including meat will fight to keep on polluting

Agriculture companies and lobbyists are among those who arrived in the United Arab Emirates for Cop28 determined to resist pressure on them to transform their businesses. Documents show that JBS, the world’s biggest meat company, and allies including the Global Dairy Platform, planned to make arguments in favour of livestock farming with “full force”. While the sincerity of fossil-fuel businesses’ commitment to a green transition has long been doubted, they are not the only energy-intensive businesses to approach Cop28 as an opportunity to promote their activities – rather than a threat.

While the ostensible purpose is to safeguard the planet for the future, the fear is that the Cop process has been captured by the short-term interests of carbon-emitting industries that will do anything to protect their wealth. This year’s gathering is hosted by Sultan Al Jaber, the chief executive of the UAE’s national oil company.

Rishi Sunak has defended watering down his climate policies as he insisted the UK was still 'leading the charge' in tackling the climate crisis at the Cop28 summit in Dubai. Climate politics is 'close to breaking point', he said, adding: 'I shift a date to be in line with almost every other country and it’s treated like it’s a rather extreme measure.' The UK prime minister also said he did not face any criticism from the world leaders he met for delaying a UK ban on selling new petrol and diesel vehicles

• Sunak says not a single leader at Cop28 has criticised UK’s petrol car ban delay

Prime minister defends Britain’s climate record at UN summit and urges countries to decarbonise

• UK politics live – latest updates
• Business live – latest updates

Rishi Sunak says he did not face any criticism from the world leaders he met for delaying a UK ban on selling new petrol and diesel vehicles as he repeated his defence of the UK’s climate record.

Before and during his swift visit to Dubai for the Cop28 climate conference, the prime minister had been focusing on urging other countries to do all they could to decarbonise, while celebrating Britain’s achievements.

Labour leader says ‘things will be done differently’ if he wins the next election

• Cop28 live – latest updates

Keir Starmer has accused Rishi Sunak of “shrinking and retreating” from showcasing leadership on the global stage at Cop28 and over the climate crisis.

The Labour leader said the transition to net zero could benefit millions of people in the UK who are struggling with the cost of living crisis. But instead, the “smallness” of Sunak’s politics was affecting his ability to show a “seriousness and a want to lead” on the issue.

As Cop28 gets under way, it is vital that corporations and richer nations invest in the global south

• Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber is president of the Cop28 United Nations climate change conference and William Ruto is president of Kenya

Without urgent action to bolster green jobs in developing economies, the collective action needed to win the fight against climate change will remain elusive. Developing nations face a number of socioeconomic challenges, forcing them to tighten spending. More people worldwide are living in hunger, and 2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water at home. More than 60% of low-income countries are in, or at high risk of, debt distress, while access to capital is limited and the cost of borrowing prohibitive. This leaves minimal room for the debt creation and spending needed to fund climate action.

Green industrialisation presents an opportunity for developing nations to achieve socioeconomic transformation by combining environmental stewardship and economic progress. It offers a pathway for sustainable and inclusive growth and can address these structural challenges by improving access to energy, industrialisation and diversification, and growing employment.

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber is president of the Cop28 United Nations climate change conference

William Ruto is president of Kenya

Cop28: Can fossil fuel companies transition to clean energy?
On Tuesday 5 December, 8pm-9.15pm GMT, join Damian Carrington, Christiana Figueres, Tessa Khan and Mike Coffin for a livestreamed discussion on whether fossil fuel companies can transition to clean energy. Book tickets here or at theguardian.live

Designation means the bathing waters carry risk of sickness, as government is accused of ‘gross negligence’

• UK politics live – latest updates

The three rivers designated for swimming in England have all been given “poor” status in newly published government water quality figures

Data released by the Environment Agency on Friday showed that during the 2023 bathing season 96% of bathing waters in England met minimum standards, with 90% of bathing waters in England being rated as “good” or “excellent”. This was a decline from the previous year’s statistics which showed that 97% met the minimum standard of “sufficient”, while 93% met the highest standards of good and excellent.

Exclusive: Move to categorise PFOA as linked to cancer in humans by World Health Organization ups pressure on UK government

A substance found in hundreds of drinking water samples across England has been categorised as carcinogenic by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The move will increase pressure on the UK government to take action on “forever chemicals”.

UK monarch addresses summit as British PM among world leaders arriving in the UAE for climate talks

My colleague Nina Lakhani has more on yesterday’s loss and damage agreement.

As the second day gets under way, the president of the G77 plus China group – the bloc of 135 developing countries which played a key role in yesterday’s historic resolution on operationalising the loss and damage fund – said the decision sent a clear political message.

“It was a milestone in terms of creating a positive mood for the very, very complex process on the GST [global stock take] that we had ahead of us now. But the fund needs to be filled up. The pledges announced were a welcome sign, but they were just pledges and must materialise as soon as possible. And we expect much, much more because of the impact of loss and damage in developing countries,” said ambassador Pedro Pedroso of Cuba.

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world

Rishi Sunak’s attendance comes after he scaled back pledges to help the UK reach net zero by 2050

• Cop28 live – latest updates

King Charles will give a “call to arms” in his Cop28 climate summit opening statement, Rishi Sunak has said, expressing delight over the monarch’s record championing the issue.

Sunak said it was a “proud moment” for him to witness Charles deliver his speech on Friday, which “speaks volumes about our type of leadership as a country”.