Andy: And we're back with another episode of Babbel News – English Only, where you can improve your listening skills while keeping up to date with global news sourced directly from Reuters.

My name is Andy, and I’ll be filling in for Ted as your host today. I'll guide you through this episode by briefly introducing the news clip and the key vocabulary. And if it helps you to read along while listening, you can find the transcript by following the link in the episode description.

The news story we've selected for you today covers the COP28 climate conference in Dubai and the controversial decision to invite energy companies to take part in the talks.

Before we play the clip, let's take a look at some of the more important vocab. When something is described as "controversial", it means it causes a lot of disagreement or argument. The next word is the verb "to capture", which, in the context of this story, means to take control over something. After that, we have "fossil fuels", materials that are taken from deep underground and that can be burned for heat and power, such as oil or gas. A "phaseout" is a continuous process of stopping something that happens over a longer period of time, not suddenly. And "to dismiss", in the context of this story, means to decide that someone is not important and not worth listening to. Next, "to prioritize something" is to treat it as more important than other things. And then we have the expression “to cast oneself as something”, which means to describe or present oneself in a certain way. The next word is "to avert", or to prevent something bad or dangerous from happening. Lastly, "to back someone up" is to support or agree with someone.

Ok, let’s find out more about what’s being debated at COP28.

Reuters: Climate activists protested outside COP28 in Dubai on Tuesday (December 5). This year's summit has been controversial in part because its president, Sultan Al Jaber, is the head of the UAE national oil company. He's also made a point of including oil and gas companies in the talks.

“It is disappointing that the COP28 is being held in UAE."

Zimbabwean activist Lorraine Chiponda said COP28 had been "captured by fossil fuel corporations."

"That's why we're seeing a lot of greenwashing around the phaseout, and hesitation to clearly put checks that phase out all fossil fuels. So it was a bad decision to host COP here.”
 
ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods is also in Dubai, marking the first time a chief executive of the oil giant has attended COP. His company declined to comment after former U.S. Vice President Al Gore dismissed Woods as someone who prioritizes "protecting his profits" over the "survival of the human civilization."

But Woods' presence is a sign of how the fossil fuel industry is trying to cast itself as part of the solution to climate change. Research released on Tuesday, however, showed that global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels are set to hit a record high this year.

Scientists and activists fear that efforts to combat climate change are not enough to avert its worst impacts.

Activist Lorraine Chiponda: "If you look at all the regions where there are fossil fuels in Africa, the host communities are suffering from the impacts of their project, so I'm here to demand that our leaders put an end to the fossil fuel era, and to transition the world towards renewable energy."

Countries at COP28 are considering calling for a formal phaseout of fossil fuels, according to a draft negotiating text. That's likely to spark a heated debate.

But if adopted, it would be the first global deal to end the oil age. On the COP28 main stage, however, the CEOs of several main energy companies have been arguing in favor of oil and gas. They're backed up by an army of lobbyists.

At least 2,400 of them registered for this year's summit, an analysis of U.N. registration data published by Kick Big Polluters Out has shown. That outnumbers the delegates from the ten most climate-vulnerable countries combined.

Andy: Alright, that's all for today. I hope you enjoyed the episode and learned something new! Remember, you can always listen to the episode again at a slower speed, or look up any words you're still not sure about in a dictionary.

Next week we will air our last episode of the season, just in time for the end of the year! But don't worry, all our episodes will remain online. So you can revisit them whenever you like and see how much progress you've made. And if you’re looking for more content, check out the first season of Babbel News – English Only.

See you next time. Bye!