SCIENCE

As countries try to hammer out a response to climate change at the COP28 talks in Dubai, here are some key figures about how fossil fuels have warmed our world.

Battle lines on fossil fuels hardened at UN climate talks on Tuesday despite scientists warning that global warming could breach the 1.5C threshold within seven years.

A record almost 2,500 fossil fuel lobbyists have been accredited for UN climate talks in Dubai, as negotiators wrestle with calls to end all new oil, gas and coal projects to curb global warming, campaign groups said Tuesday.

The world may cross the crucial 1.5C global warming threshold in seven years as fossil fuel CO2 emissions continue to rise, scientists warned Tuesday, urging countries at the COP28 talks to "act now" on coal, oil and gas pollution.

Saudi Arabia's energy minister has slammed the door shut on agreeing to phase out fossil fuels at the UN's COP28 climate talks, setting the stage for difficult negotiations in Dubai.

Inside the negotiating rooms and on the sidelines of the COP28 climate talks, simmering tensions over wealthy countries' "green trade" policies have been bubbling to the surface, with developing nations fearful they will be penalised.

The president of Guinea-Bissau dissolved parliament on Monday ahead of fresh elections, saying an "attempted coup" had plunged the West African nation into a new crisis.

The Emirati head of the UN climate conference insisted on Monday that he respects climate science after he came under fire over a leaked video in which he questioned the science on fossil fuels.

The Emirati president of the UN's COP28 talks said Monday he respects climate science, after a leaked video showed him declaring that no science says phasing out fossil fuel will achieve climate goals.

The United Arab Emirates is choking under "alarmingly high" air pollution levels fed by its fossil fuel industry, Human Rights Watch warned on Monday as the oil-rich country hosts the UN's COP28 climate talks in Dubai.

On a sailing boat anchored off Oman's pristine Daymaniyat Islands, volunteer divers pull on wetsuits, check their scuba tanks and then take turns plunging into the clear turquoise water.

Sania sits in front of her home in Indonesia, less than a kilometre from Southeast Asia's biggest coal complex, where chimneys pump dark grey smoke and a chemical smell into the air.

Dubai's glitzy skyline was obscured by a blanket of smog rated as "unhealthy" on Sunday as thousands of delegates attended a COP28 conference dedicated to the harmful effects of air pollution.

Armed with satellite images of pipelines, former US vice president and climate champion Al Gore singled out the emissions of the United Arab Emirates at the COP28 talks in the oil-rich monarchy on Sunday.

A drone buzzed back and forth above rows of verdant orange trees planted near Nabeul, eastern Tunisia.

Israel carried out bombardments in Gaza on Sunday as international calls mounted for greater protection of civilians and the renewal of an expired truce with Palestinian militant group Hamas.

They call the giant climate business expo running outside the COP28 United Nations talks in Dubai the "green zone".

More than 20 nations including the United States called for a tripling of nuclear energy to drive down emissions on Saturday as world leaders assembled for a second day at UN climate talks in Dubai.

It would be a mistake to reject nuclear power because of problems at a handful of projects, Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said in an interview with AFP. Grossi was speaking at the COP28 conference in Dubai, where on Saturday a group of large countries are expected to call for nuclear power capacity to be tripled by 2050 as part of the fight against global warming.

More than 110 countries want the COP28 climate negotiations to adopt a goal of tripling renewable energy and doubling energy efficiency by 2030, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Friday.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced Friday plans by UAE state-owned renewables firm Masdar and German energy giant RWE to invest up to GBP11 billion ($14 billion) in a giant offshore windfarm.

The World Bank will "operate" an ambitious new climate change fund, but donors and recipients will likely control how the money is actually spent, the head of the development lender said Friday.

Renewed fighting in Gaza after a week-long truce has brought back a "nightmarish situation" for the Palestinian territory, the head of the Red Cross told AFP on Friday.

Geert Wilders' stunning election win was confirmed officially Friday, but the far-right Dutch leader faces an uphill battle to forge a coalition with other parties uncomfortable with his anti-Islam views.

The world's biggest experimental nuclear fusion reactor in operation was inaugurated in Japan on Friday, a technology in its infancy but billed by some as the answer to humanity's future energy needs.

World leaders take centre stage at UN climate talks in Dubai on Friday, under pressure to step up efforts to limit global warming as the Israel-Hamas conflict casts a shadow over the summit.

Western energy firms are the usual suspects when it comes to criticism about the sector's role in climate change, but a less visible lineup of powerful state companies dominates the industry.

In humans, nodding off for a few seconds is a clear sign of insufficient sleep -- and can be dangerous in some situations, such as when driving a car.

More than 400 oil and gas projects were approved globally in the last two years despite calls to abandon all new hydrocarbon development, new figures showed as the UN COP28 climate talks opened Thursday.