Cop28 is ‘making progress’ says UN’s top climate scientist – The National

Cop28 is ‘making progress’ says UN’s top climate scientist – The National

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Cop28Respected and precisely spoken, the UN’s top climate expert Jim Skea is the face of “the science” at Cop28.His verdict on the summit’s first week? It’s “a Cop that’s making progress”.It is also visibly an inclusive Cop, he says, speaking to The National in his temporary office at Dubai’s Expo City.This is the first summit since Prof Skea, 70, was elected chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.The IPCC’s job is to distil the world’s knowledge and give the authoritative facts on what the science is telling us.Prof Skea has spent his time in Dubai meeting leaders, discussing the IPCC's next review cycle and reminding people what that science says.For example, a scenario where global warming is limited to 1.5°C involves “a phase-out of unabated coal by 2050”, he says.The Scotsman flanked Dr Sultan Al Jaber at a press conference where the Cop28 President said he “respects the science” after media reports about his views.Prof Skea also stresses the IPCC’s independence and is not involved in the negotiations on how to slow global warming to 1.5°C, the goal of the Paris Agreement.Those talks are now entering a tug-of-war over coal and fossil