ACTIVISTS yesterday declared the “north star” of 1.5°C warming of the planet to be barely alive as climate negotiators at the Dubai United Nations climate summit (Cop28) agreed the world must transition away from fossil fuels.

After nearly 30 years of conferences about carbon pollution, climate negotiators in a key document explicitly took aim at what's trapping the heat: the burning of coal, oil and natural gas.

Within minutes of opening yesterday's session, Cop28 President Sultan al-Jaber announced the approval of the global stocktake that says how off-track the world is on climate and how to get back on.