A team of scientists from Massachusetts Institute (MIT) has developed a process to convert CO2 - the planet's primary warming agent —- into a powdery, harmless fuel that could be converted into clean electricity.Researchers at MIT exposed CO2 to catalysts and then electrolysis, turning  the gas into a powder called sodium formate, which can be safely stored.The MIT process gets closer to an ambitious dream: turning captured CO2 into a feedstock for clean fuel that replaces conventional batteries. A refrigerator-sized fuel cell has also been developed as the next stage.  Hopefully more to come on this breakthrough.https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientist-discover-h

Bangladesh is one of the largest jute producers in the world. Now, an invention from the capital Dhaka could make the fiber indispensable: Namely, the creation of a biodegradable foil from jute cellulose. This material could be used to replace the world’s disposable plastic bags with bags made from biodegradable jute products. The scientist Mubarak Ahmad Khan took advantage of jute’s high cellulose content and developed a biodegradable foil. This is used to make the "Sonali Bag", a sustainable replacement for the plastic bag. https://youtu.be/VOUwG2JQ01M?si=gaLs5L5XpSR

For decades, measurements such as the Keeling Curve have given us the big-picture view of how much CO2 is in the Earth’s atmosphere. We know emissions are on rising, and we know it’s a result of continued use of fossil fuels.But we need additional information about exactly where and when greenhouse gas emissions are occurring in order to set actionable goals to reduce them and to track our progress toward  emissions reduction goals. Climate TRACE was formed to provide insight across all countries, major emitting industries, and major individual sources of emissions, enabling a new era of radical transparency that will help facilitate concrete climate action. https://climatetrace.org/

So the CoP28 final statement finally included “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner”. According to CoP28 President Jaber, this includes “A global goal to triple renewables and double energy efficiency. Declarations on agriculture, food and health. More oil and gas companies stepping up on methane and emissions”. UN climate chief Simon Stiell added “Whilst we didn’t turn the page on the fossil fuel era in Dubai, this outcome is the beginning of the end - The Global Stocktake showed us clearly that progress is not fast enough.” https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/13/countries-agree-to-deal-at-cop28-climate-summit.html 

Apart from scaling down fossil fuels, there are many different Climate issues discussed at CoP28. Here are two McKinsey articles describing what has been finalised in the second week: Food & Water including: Accelerating regenerative agriculture, Supporting smallholder farmers, Preserving freshwater ecosystems, Funding water security and Improving urban water resilience: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/sustainability-blog/cop28-food-and-water Reducing Emissions including: Tripling Renewable energy, Zero-emission Buses, More Efficient Cooling Technologies, The Green Built environment, Hydrogen Declaration of Intent, New Green

In the final week of CoP28, the Global Stocktake will take centre stage. The Report is expecting to rock negotiators  towarrds an inevitable, but unenviable word game around an agreement to phase fossil fuels 'out' or 'down'. To help push ministers over the line, UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres is flying into Dubai this week to help “end the fossil fuel age”.Key to these negotiations will be if special circumstances are offered to the least developing countries.The planet's future is at stake.The Global Stocktake: https://www.nature.com/immersive/s41558-023-01832-z/index.htmlCommentary: