COP28 kicks off in Dubai, promising two weeks of talks on fossil fuel phaseout

Shafaq News/ The 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), which promises to be a fierce battle over the exit from fossil fuels and the financing of the energy transition in developing countries, has officially opened in Dubai.

The Egyptian president of last year's COP27, Sameh Choukri, head of Egyptian diplomacy, called for a minute's silence for "all civilians who have died in the current conflict in Gaza", as well as for two veteran COP diplomats who had recently died.

Representatives from nearly 200 countries have gathered for a fortnight of negotiations chaired by the United Arab Emirates.