- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
- Vietnam president reiterates support for Cuba during official visit
- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
- Poverty rises to over 52 percent in Milei's Argentina
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala Harris
- Champagne houses abuzz over English sparkling wine
- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
- 'Unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene races towards Florida
- Macron meets Trudeau in Canada as both face political setbacks
- South Korea surges in UN innovation index
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala
- Floods threaten Niger's historic 'gateway to the desert'
Activists slam appointment of UAE oil boss to lead climate talks
Hundreds of campaign groups on Thursday condemned the appointment of an oil boss to lead UN climate talks in the United Arab Emirate, saying it threatened the meeting's "legitimacy".
The UAE named Sultan Al Jaber, chief executive of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), to head the crucial COP28 climate meeting in November, sparking an outcry from activists.
He is the first CEO to take the role at the UN summit.
NGOs and civil society organisations from around the world said in an open letter Thursday the "decision threatens the legitimacy and efficacy of COP28.
"This is no cause for celebration," it added in the letter to UN chief Antonio Guterres and Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), under which all climate negotiations are held.
"If we have any hope of addressing the climate crisis, every COP must be free from the polluting influence of the fossil fuel industry," the letter added.
Experts have repeatedly warned that the world is not on track to limit warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius set out in the Paris agreement. If that target is to be met, they say, no new fossil fuel projects can come online.
- 'Corporate trade show' -
The UAE, a leading crude producer and one of the world's biggest polluters per capita, argues that oil remains indispensable to the global economy.
It is pushing the merits of carbon capture -- removing carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, as fuel is burned or from the air.
"The UAE's track record demonstrates it is not serious about phasing out fossil fuel use and keeping global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius," the letter Thursday said.
"It is central to causing the climate crisis, not solving it."
The signatories called on the UNFCCC not to allow "big polluters" to influence climate policymaking or sponsor climate talks.
They said "world governments continue to treat the UNFCCC as an industry PR stunt and corporate trade show", despite increasing climate impacts.
The UAE had one of the largest contingents of oil and gas lobbyists at the last COP held in Egypt in November.
That meeting concluded with a landmark agreement to create a "loss and damage" fund to cover the costs that developing countries face from climate-linked natural disasters and slower impacts like sea level rise.
But observers left disappointed that little progress had been made on reducing the planet-heating emissions from fossil fuels.
T.Morelli--CPN