The UAE Cop28 presidency has launched a major partnership with the next two hosts of the climate conference, Azerbaijan and Brazil, to help keep the crucial 1.5ºC climate goal within reach.
The “Cop presidencies troika” aims to boost co-operation and ensure continuity between the hosts of the annual climate talks in what is being called "mission 1.5ºC".
Announced on Monday, the “troika” aims to keep the spirit of the Dubai 2023 deal alive and ensure the world escapes the worst of global warming.
It came as the World Governments Summit on Monday heard from Cop28 President Dr Sultan Al Jaber and the incoming head of Cop29 at Baku about lessons learnt and the path ahead.
We will be working together through the Cop presidencies troika, with our friends in Baku and Brazil
Dr Sultan Al Jaber,
Cop28 President
“Cop28 delivered a different, ground-breaking Cop that culminated in the UAE Consensus,” said Dr Al Jaber, who is also Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology.
“The troika helps ensure we have the collaboration and continuity required to keep the North Star of 1.5°C in sight – from Baku to Belem and beyond.”
The Cop28 deal was formally referred to as the global stocktake, under which countries were called on to “transition away” from fossil fuels in what was arguably the most significant step forward for global climate action since the 2015 Paris Agreement.
It seeks to keep the global temperature limit of 1.5°C, agreed on at Paris, within reach and avoid the worst effects of climate change.
If global temperatures rise by more than that, the lives and health of billions of people could be endangered, scientists believe.
“We will be working together through the Cop presidencies troika, with our friends in Baku and Brazil, to ensure that promises made in Dubai are fulfilled through closer, focused partnerships and credible support to enable delivery,” said Dr Al Jaber.
The message from Cop28, however, was also that collectively the world was still not on track to keep temperatures from rising by 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels amid repeated UN warnings that the planet could be headed for warming of 3ºC.
That is where the troika comes in, to drive momentum over successive Cops.
Cop29 in Baku is expected to focus on finance and how to help get funds to those who need it most on the front lines of climate change. Desertification and drought is also set to be on the agenda.
At Cop30 in Brazil, countries will come with fresh national climate-action plans, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
Cop29 president-designate Mukhtar Babayev, also Azerbaijan’s Minister for Ecology and Natural Resources, said it was crucial to unlock funds and provide for those nations most in need.
“We are committed to leveraging our strength as a bridge-builder between the developed and developing world as host of Cop29, to accelerate efforts to keep 1.5ºC in reach,” said Mr Babayev.
“Key to that will be establishing a new climate finance goal that reflects the scale and urgency of the climate challenge. And equally important, unlocking those funds and getting them to the nations that need them most.”
Marina Silva, Brazil’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, said the last opportunity to keep 1.5ºC within reach had to be grasped.
“We need to make the most of the opportunity that this troika of Cop presidencies presents: to ensure that in these coming two years we will be able to do what science tells us we have to, in the last window of opportunity to achieve the 1.5°C ambition.”
Simon Stiell, the UN Climate Change executive secretary, said the troika would help deliver on the ambition needed to tackle climate change.
"This is an opportunity to cement what was agreed at Cop28, ensure that it is enabled by Cop29 and the subsequent actions taken at Cop30 with new ambitious NDCs - shifting finance from trickles to torrents and delivering 1.5°C aligned NDCs," he said.
Cop28 and the climate road ahead was also in sharp focus at the World Governments Summit on Monday.
Dr Al Jaber was part of a panel called Delivering the UAE consensus – from agreement to action, along with International Monetary Fund president Kristalina Georgieva, Mr Stiell, Mr Babayev and the ministers of environment for Jordan and Bangladesh.
Dr Al Jaber reflected on the arduous task of delivering Cop28 but said he did not regret taking on the job of president.
When asked if criticism of him over his role as chief executive of Adnoc ever got to him, he replied: ”Never. Because I knew I was going to prove them wrong."
"I knew it from day one and thought it was a cheap shot. All they had to do was look at my [biography],” he said, referring to his other roles in renewable energy.
Mr Stiell said it was a “very, very bumpy ride” before arriving at the events of December 13, the date the Cop28 deal was made.
“What was really significant about Dubai last year was … the global stocktake set out precisely what implementation means," he said. "This is [now] about getting things done.”
Ms Georgieva said the most impressive part of being at Cop28 was to witness how the impossible gets done. “This Cop moved the conversation from we shall to we do,” she said.
Looking to Cop29 in Baku this year, Mr Babayev said hosting the crucial talks was a major responsibility and a big opportunity.
“Today we are learning, listening. It is a big responsibility to learn how this consensus, made in the Emirates, [can be brought] to Azerbaijan and … how to pass it at the end to Cop30," said Mr Babayev.
"It is not easy. But we have to do it.”
Cop28 at Expo City Dubai - in pictures
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The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
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- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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2012-2015
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May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
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Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
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Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
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- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
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Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
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