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Climate envoys representing nearly 100 countries called on fellow COP28 delegates to deliver a successful UN summit in Dubai in memory of the late British climate negotiator, Pete Betts, an architect of the Paris Agreement.
Diplomats from the EU, Latin America and a large group of developing countries praised the legacy of the respected negotiator, in a statement ahead of Betts’ funeral on Wednesday.
“He was trusted, thoughtful, and determined — a master strategist who never gave up on pushing for the highest level of ambition,” they said. “He believed that no problem was insurmountable if we worked together.”
The statement comes as fears grow that geopolitical tensions and divisions over the future for fossil fuels as well as finance for poorer countries will make it difficult for COP28 to achieve a meaningful outcome.
Betts died aged 64 in late October, 19 months after he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour.
A lead negotiator for both the UK and the EU, he helped to revive UN climate talks after the 2009 Copenhagen COP ended without the far-reaching legal agreement many countries had sought.
The envoys who signed the statement are from a diverse group of nations committed to climate action, known as the Cartagena Dialogue, which Betts co-founded with other negotiators in an effort to put the talks back on track.
By bringing together nations from across the developed and developing world, the group is credited with establishing the trust needed to smooth the path for what eventually became the Paris Agreement.
Betts regarded the Cartagena Dialogue as one of his greatest achievements.
“We didn’t always agree, but we trusted the other side enough to know that if they said something, it was because they had reasons to say it and you had to listen,” he told a podcast co-hosted by former top UN climate official, Christiana Figueres, another key architect of the Paris Agreement. “And when you did listen, it was amazing how often you found common ground.”
Betts continued to work on climate policy after he left the UK civil service in 2018 and was an adviser to the International Energy Agency when it produced an influential 2021 report that showed no new oil or gasfields would be needed in a net zero emissions world.
His advice was considered vital by Fatih Birol, the agency’s head who was one of the prominent climate and energy figures who gathered in London last year for what Betts had ruefully described as “a party to mark one’s impending death”.
In one of his last interviews, Betts told the Financial Times his illness had taught him there were two things that could help people come to terms with dying.
“The first is a sense that one is loved and valued,” he said. “The second is a sense that one’s life has been useful.”
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