Cop28 chief warns leaders: stop dawdling on climate crisis and act urgently

World leaders must "stop dawdling and start doing" on cutting carbon emissions, as rapidly rising temperatures this year have put everyone on the frontline of disaster, the UN's top climate official has warned.

- Fiona Harvey

No country could think itself immune from catastrophe, warned Simon Stiell, who will oversee the crucial Cop28 climate summit that begins next week, when scores of world leaders will arrive in Dubai for tense talks on how to tackle the crisis.

"We're used to talking about protecting people on the far-flung frontlines," said Stiell, speaking exclusively to the Guardian before the summit. "We're now at the point where we're all on the frontline. Yet most governments are still strolling when they need to be sprinting."

Global temperatures have broken new records in recent months, making this year the hottest on record and perilously close to the threshold of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels that nations have agreed to hold to. Temperatures are now heading for a 3C increase unless urgent and drastic action is taken, but greenhouse gas emissions have continued to rise.