COP28 calls for speeding up action

Negotiators at the United Nations climate conference being held in Dubai were told to step up their game over the first Global Stocktake talks.

According to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC, the Global Stocktake is a process for countries and stakeholders to see where they are collectively making progress toward meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015 — and where they are not.

"On the Global Stocktake, we have a starting text on the table… The key now is to sort the wheat from the chaff. If we want to save lives now and keep (the) 1.5 (C) goal within reach, the highest ambition COP (conference of the parties) outcomes must stay front and center," said Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, at a news conference on Wednesday.