COP28: Speaker Joseph Hammond on what it means for Africa

In the dazzling cityscape of Dubai, amidst the shimmering skyscrapers and desert sands, history was quietly but profoundly made.

The United Nations conference COP28 in Dubai produced a first of its kind agreement to globally reduce the usage of fossil fuels.

In the process, COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber - largely written off by much of the western press prior to the Summit - managed to prove his critics wrong. Using business skills and deft climate diplomacy, he managed to negotiate a series of milestones that achieved more than any previous COP.

The inclusion of fossil fuel companies and a climate summit was bold, if not outright controversial - figures like Al Gore criticised the move. Yet, this led to a first of its kind oil and gas Decarbonization Charter - which over 50 the world’s major fossil fuel companies signed up to.

But given they are responsible for 40% of the world's production, it’s a wonder it took so long to on-board them in efforts to reform the sector needs in the face of the threat of climate change. Their pledge is nothing short of ambitious: to eradicate methane leakage and gas flaring completely by the year 2030 and set their sights on achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

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