Anti-Cop28 backlash is endangering Africa

While it is not ideal that climate talks will be overseen by an oil magnate, we owe a responsibility to more vulnerable nations to see that they go ahead, writes Ndileka Mandela. We cannot demand perfection at the expense of progress

More than 130 members of Congress and the European Parliament are demanding the removal of Dr Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE oil magnate leading the climate talks (PA)

The Cop28 summit in Abu Dhabi this December is not without its controversy. Here we have the UAE, one of the world’s leading oil producers, taking the reins of what may be the most consequential climate meeting of our time. It’s hard to ignore the irony – but we cannot lose sight of what’s at stake.

In my homeland of Africa, climate change is not an abstract concept – it’s an existential threat. Across the global South, nations are on the brink of climate calamity. We can’t afford the luxury of boycotting Cop28; not when it means turning our backs on crucial negotiations that could determine our survival.