
-
AI coming for anime but Ghibli's Miyazaki irreplaceable, son says
-
Swedish insurer drops $160 mn Tesla stake over labour rights
-
Hunger returns to Gaza as Israeli blockade forces bakeries shut
-
Rubio heads to Europe as transatlantic tensions soar
-
Like 'living in hell': Quake-hit Mandalay monastery clears away rubble
-
'Give me a break': Trump tariffs threaten Japan auto sector
-
US approves $5.58 bn fighter jet sale to Philippines
-
Tsunoda embracing pressure of Red Bull debut at home Japanese GP
-
'Outstanding' Hay shines as New Zealand seal Pakistan ODI series
-
El Salvador's Bukele flaunts 'iron fist' alliance with Trump
-
Stock markets mixed as uncertainty rules ahead of Trump tariffs
-
China probes for key target weak spots with 'paralysing' Taiwan drills
-
'Top Gun' and Batman star Val Kilmer dies aged 65: New York Times
-
US lawmakers seek to rename street for Hong Kong's jailed Jimmy Lai
-
Greece to spend big on 'historic' military shake up
-
Trump faces first electoral setback after Wisconsin Supreme Court vote
-
Hay shines as New Zealand beat Pakistan for ODI series win
-
Israel says expands Gaza offensive to seize 'large areas'
-
Curry drops 52 as Warriors win, Jokic bags career-high 61 in Denver loss
-
South Korea mobilising 'all resources' for violence-free Yoon verdict
-
Myanmar quake victim rescued after 5 days as aid calls grow
-
Real Madrid coach Ancelotti tax fraud trial set to begin
-
Warner showcases 'Superman' reboot, new DiCaprio film
-
'Incredible' Curry scores 52 as Warriors down Grizzlies, Bucks edge Suns
-
Asian markets edge up but uncertainty rules ahead of Trump tariffs
-
Nintendo's megahit Switch console: what to know
-
Nintendo to unveil upgrade to best-selling Switch console
-
China practises hitting key ports, energy sites in Taiwan drills
-
Oil, sand and speed: Saudi gearheads take on towering dunes
-
All eyes on Tsunoda at Japan GP after ruthless Red Bull move
-
'Image whisperers' bring vision to the blind at Red Cross museum
-
Hay shines as New Zealand make 292-8 in Pakistan ODI
-
Other governments 'weaponising' Trump language to attack NGOs: rights groups
-
UK imposes online entry permit on European visitors
-
How a Brazilian chief is staving off Amazon destruction
-
Meme politics: White House embraces aggressive alt-right online culture
-
China launches military drills in Taiwan Strait
-
US senator smashes record with 25-hour anti-Trump speech
-
Brazil binman finds newborn baby on garbage route
-
US senator smashes record with marathon anti-Trump speech
-
Trump advisor Waltz faces new pressure over Gmail usage
-
Niger junta frees ministers of overthrown government
-
Trump set to unleash 'Liberation Day' tariffs
-
Boeing chief to acknowledge 'serious missteps' at US Senate hearing
-
Real Madrid hold Real Sociedad in eight-goal thriller to reach Copa del Rey final
-
Nuno salutes 'special' Elanga after stunning strike fires Forest
-
PSG survive scare against Dunkerque to reach French Cup final
-
Sundowns edge Esperance as crowd violence mars quarter-final
-
Nottingham Forest beat Man Utd, Saka scores on Arsenal return
-
Elanga wonder-goal sinks Man Utd as Forest eye Champions League berth

COP28 puts out welcome mat to lobbyists
"All views are welcome. All views are needed," declared Sultan Al Jaber, president of the UN's COP28 and head of the Emirates state oil and gas company in the run-up to the climate talks in Dubai.
That welcome also extends to lobbyists and big oil companies, some of whom will be part of national delegations when negotiations start on Thursday.
Here we look at some of the questions that raises.
- Are lobbies allowed at COP? -
"Leaders, experts and people of influence" come together in the COP's "blue zone", where talks take place, the UN states, without mentioning lobbyists.
But lobbyists can get accreditation by joining a national delegation or from one of the 2,000 "observer" groups made up of NGOs and professional groups.
"When people think about lobbying, they think about behind-closed-doors meetings between a company or their representatives and a policymaker. And that's certainly a lot of it," Faye Holder, program manager at think tank InfluenceMap, told AFP.
But it can also "include things like social media posts, advertising, sponsorships, the use of trade groups or astroturf groups", fake organisations made to look like grassroots groups, she said.
The lack of clear rules at the talks about conflict of interest has long been criticised.
Indeed, hosts the UAE were accused this week of using its role as COP28 hosts to discuss fossil fuel deals with other governments, according to leaked documents obtained by the BBC. COP28 dismissed the reports as "inaccurate".
Until this year, the UN did not oblige delegates to reveal their links to the organisation they were accredited with or who they are employed by, making it extremely difficult to detect lobbyists.
Some 65 members of the US Congress and the European Parliament wrote to the UN to voice their "profound concern that current rules... permit private sector polluters to exert undue influence" on the talks.
A report by high level experts mandated by the UN called for "non-state actors to publicly disclose their trade association affiliations" and said they cannot be allowed to "lobby to undermine ambitious government climate policies either directly" or indirectly.
- A record number at COP28? -
The last COP in Egypt set a new record for lobbyists, with 636 official delegates working for fossil fuel companies, according to Global Witness, which combed through participants' CVs.
The NGO told AFP that that record will be broken again in Dubai.
The umbrella group Kick Big Polluters Out claims that at least 7,200 lobbyists working for fossil fuel interests have been accredited to COP summits over the last two decades.
And that is only the "tip of the iceberg", they claim, with many passing under the radar.
Kick Big Polluters Out said lobbyists sometimes outnumber both the delegations from some of the countries most vulnerable to climate change and activists from NGOs.
Many state-owned oil and gas companies also form part of their countries' national delegations.
COP28, which will have a record 70,000 delegates, has thrown the doors open to the private sector, with oil and gas majors officially invited along with other polluting industries.
Ironically, according to the experts, it is perhaps the first time that fossil fuel producers' part in the talks has been addressed so openly. COP28 president Jaber told AFP this week that "everyone needs to be held accountable".
Some NGOs, however, have appealed for a boycott of the talks, while others want to counter lobbyists by turning up themselves in large numbers.
- How can lobbyists affect the talks? -
One of the clearest examples of the influence of the oil and gas companies on a COP was the Paris Agreement in 2015. Its Article 6 created a system of exchange of carbon credits, something the industry had demanded for years.
David Hone, Shell's chief climate advisor, admitted that they spent four years pushing "for the need for carbon unit trading to be part of the Paris Agreement.
"We can take some credit for the fact that Article 6 is even there at all," he told a 2018 conference organised by IETA, a lobby group founded by oil companies that will have dozens of delegates at COP28.
In Dubai, the lobbies could again have a strong influence on the language of the agreements "and what it means", said Holder, particularly the vaunting of carbon capture, green hydrogen and "low-carbon gas" as possible solutions.
She said the big question will be around the phrase "phasing out fossil fuels", and if this might be altered to "unabated fossil fuels", which means without carbon capture, "which is a sort of sneaky word that makes quite a big difference", and gives the oil industry lots of wriggle room.
S.Gregor--AMWN