Welcome to your weekly geopolitical update from the Great Game! With a relatively quiet week in global affairs, we have time to dive into a couple of issues that we’ve been looking at over the past weeks. But let’s start at the main stage with the current COP28 summit that’s about to wrap up.

Will “majlis” sit-downs save the climate?

The COP28 climate summit currently underway in Dubai marks a crucial moment in global environmental diplomacy. Key issues dominating the summit include the proposed phase-out of fossil fuels, the deep divide between oil-producing and oil-consuming nations, and the urgency of meeting the goals set in the Paris Agreement. At the heart of the summit’s discussions is a significant push by over 80 countries, including the United States and members of the European Union, to include explicit language in the final agreement for the phase-out of fossil fuels. This initiative is seen as vital to…