00:00 We're one week in at COP28 in Dubai and the elephant in the room still remains.
00:04 Is the world's biggest climate summit actually just a Trojan horse for fossil fuel companies
00:10 to make more money?
00:12 And does this conference actually change anything?
00:14 Let's get into it.
00:15 This is EST Explains.
00:17 COP is the only summit to bring together all the players to address climate change and
00:22 its consequences.
00:23 The mission everyone's rallying around.
00:25 By 2030, reach net zero to keep the planet no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer so
00:31 we may have a viable future.
00:33 The fastest and most efficient way of doing this is facing out fossil fuels.
00:37 The 1.5 degree limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning all fossil fuels.
00:44 This year, before the start of the conference, the person appointed as president of COP28
00:48 is Sultan Aljubeir, the CEO of Abu Dhabi's national oil company.
00:53 Huge conflict of interest.
00:55 It's been found that Aljubeir has been using meetings with world leaders to sell more oil
01:01 and gas.
01:02 Just this week, he's been spreading misinformation that there's no science behind fossil fuel
01:07 phase out.
01:08 There is no science out there or no scenario out there that says that the phase out of
01:14 fossil fuel is what's going to achieve 1.5.
01:16 The icy on the cake was when Putin, who rarely leaves Russia, landed in Abu Dhabi this week
01:21 to renegotiate Russia's oil exports with UAE and Saudi Arabia to fund his evasion of Ukraine.
01:27 So yes, we are experiencing almost comical levels of greenwashing by the UAE and sponsors
01:33 who pay to play here.
01:34 On the flip side of the coin, this is the one time of the year for world leaders to
01:38 negotiate climate finance.
01:40 The countries most affected by climate change rely on these negotiations to lock in crucial
01:45 funding from richer countries.
01:47 This is also called loss and damage when wealthy, high polluting countries finally pay what
01:52 they owe to developing nations that have contributed next to nothing in carbon emissions yet bear
01:57 the bulk of climate disasters.
01:59 And for the first time ever, this year, the loss and damage fund was agreed on during the
02:03 first day of COP 28.
02:05 $700 million so far has been committed to the loss and damage fund.
02:09 That sounds like a lot, but it's actually around 0.2% of the irreversible economic and
02:15 non-economic losses developing countries are currently facing.
02:19 As disheartening and infuriating as this is, it just goes to show how negotiations that
02:23 only happen once a year are all the more important.
02:26 And it's quite a rarity where opposition groups like activists, indigenous delegations, and
02:31 the media come face to face in one room with world leaders.
02:34 The global stage here can be one giant oxymoron, but being here, I am reminded of the importance
02:39 of community building.
02:41 There's also so much joy and purpose and community building that re-solidifies why this work
02:45 is pivotal.
02:46 This is a collective, powerful, and historic grassroots movement.
02:50 We refuse to let the colonial powers and fossil fuel companies determine the outcome.
02:55 [MUSIC PLAYING]
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