Chris Packham has branded Cop28 a ‘wasted opportunity’ for world leaders to make progress on solutions to the climate crisis.
In an exclusive interview with The London Economic, the broadcaster and popular conservationist said the decision to hold the 28th Conference of the Parties in Expo City, Dubai, ‘undermined’ the climate talks.
His comments follow the publication of leaked documents just days before the summit which revealed the United Arab Emirate (UAE) schemed to use its position as host to discuss oil and gas deals.
The documents, published by the Centre for Climate Reporting, were prepared by the UAE’s Cop28 team for meetings with dozens of foreign governments and featured “talking points” from Emirati state oil and renewable energy companies.
The summit drew fresh criticism this week with scientists describing the failure to call for a phase-out of fossil fuels ‘devastating’ and a ‘tragedy for the planet and our future’.
It followed the adoption of a compromise to ‘transition away’ from fossil fuels rather than the stronger term ‘phase out’, which had been backed by 130 of the 198 countries negotiating in Dubai.
The conference started on a positive note, however, with states approving a climate disaster “loss and damage fund” that was first tabled at Cop27 in Egypt last year.
The UK is among a number of countries to have pledged a total of $700 million, which falls short of the $100 billion requested by a group of developing countries.
For Packham, who described the treatment of the planet as ’embarrassing’ during Cop26, the only way future summits can influence tangible results is for countries to enshrine pledges into law.
“The interesting thing about Cop26 – it was filled full of scientists, some of the world’s best scientists on those pavilions there. In some ways my presence there was exhilarating,” he said.
“But unfortunately, you’d walk away from them, and you’d bump into lobbyists, and then you drift into the political arena, and there was a very clear divide between the two.
“I think what we’ve seen in this particular Cop is that divide exaggerated. It was held in the UAE, the president was the owner of the major oil company. Before it even started we saw that they were doing deals off the back of it for more fossil fuels.
“It stank from the outset. But the biggest problem they face outside all of that is that these conventions only ever come up with pledges and promises, they don’t come up with legally binding laws.”
The former presenter of Autumn Watch also took aim at Rishi Sunak’s appearance at the summit, following reports the prime minister, the King and foreign secretary David Cameron took separate jets to key talks.
“Our own prime minister spent more time in the air on a private jet than he did there. He gave a speech which wasn’t backed up by the actions that he and his government had said they are going to roll or not roll out here.”
Watch the full clip below:
Related: Chris Packham files legal challenge against Rishi Sunak’s reckless net zero policies
