Charles Warns Cop28: 'The Earth Does Not Belong To Us, We Belong To The Earth'

As world leaders meet for the COP28 climate conference, The Independent reports that the world has only a handful of years left to rein in emissions before we exhaust the planet’s ability to cope.

- LOUISE BOYLE

The two-week summit in Dubai opened to a “deafening cacophony of broken records”, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said yesterday.

With King Charles set to use his opening address today to call for a “critical turning point towards genuine transformational action”:

• UN secretary general Antonio Guterres warned unprecedented global heat “should send shivers down the spines of world leaders”
• Hosts UAE insisted no issue would be left off the table during talks
• Latest projections showed there was just a 14 per cent chance of limiting warming to the 1.5C target
• A landmark deal was finalised to support vulnerable nations already suffering irrevocable loss from the climate crisis
• Rishi Sunak said he was “proud” of his record on tackling climate change – despite fierce criticism from UK campaigners over his net zero U-turns
• US climate envoy John Kerry said Washington would target reductions of the potent but lesser-mentioned greenhouse gas, methane

The King is expected to tell leaders and climate delegates that the “hope of the world” rests on their decisions, and argue that, despite some progress, repeated warning signs of climate change are being ignored. It is understood he will outline five key questions that he hopes the summit will address, adding: “The Earth does not belong to us, we belong to the Earth.”