As COP28 negotiators wrestle with fossil fuels, activists urge them to remember what’s at stake

By UZMI ATHAR, Press Trust of India

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — As this year’s global climate talks reach a conclusion, activists are hoping that negotiators will listen to their stories as they weigh what to do about the fossil fuels that are warming the planet. One of those is Joseph Kenson Sakala, who said he was a farmer in Malawi before he was forced out by coal mining that polluted land and water. Now Sakala counsels farmers on how to adapt to climate change. Sakala has been in Dubai sharing his story. Activists and experts say a quick phase-out is the only way to bring emissions down sharply enough to avert catastrophic warming. Some oil-rich nations argue instead for a slower and open-ended transition.