The Climate Briefing: Climate politics and geopolitics: what happened at COP28?

Ruth Townend is joined by a range of experts to explain and assess what happened at COP28 in the UAE.

Audio

Published 15 December 2023

Updated 17 July 2025 — 20 minute listen

Antony Froggatt

Former Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Director, Environment and Society Centre

In the second of two COP28 takeover episodes, Research Fellow Ruth Townend gathers Chatham House teammates to discuss how the conference went, with a particular focus on the politics and geopolitics that shaped the conference outcome.

Ruth reflects on the global stocktake and loss and damage, while Antony Froggatt and Bernice Lee reflect on how different actors shaped the outcomes, as well as the changing shape of the conference over the years. Glada Lahn discusses the crucial text on fossil fuels, while Professor Tim Benton explores how food and agriculture were dealt with at the conference. The team finish by discussing their hopes for climate action in the year ahead.

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