A world of difference from Glasgow to COP28 in Dubai

After two weeks of wrangling, a deal has finally been struck at the UN climate conference COP28 in the United Arab Emirates.

The road to Dubai has been a long and winding one, which two years ago ran straight through the centre of Glasgow.

For weeks, COP26's blue and green logo with its swirling globe was emblazoned on every lamp post as tens of thousands of delegates took over local hotels.

Both events produced agreements described as "historic" but how will the two be compared in history?

In the vast Expo 2020 conference centre on the outskirts of Dubai, the former US vice president and now prominent climate campaigner Al Gore told me Glasgow was "a very significant COP."

He remembers the COP26 president Alok Sharma holding back tears as the language around "phasing out" coal was weakened at the last minute.

It came through a surprise intervention from the floor by India's environment minister Bhupender Yadav.

But Mr Gore adds: "That was the first time when any of the fossil fuels, in this case coal, was singled out."

In the dying hours of Glasgow, I remember being in the vast plenary hall watching ministers and country negotiators in tight huddles discussing individual sentences and words.

It seemed like it was never going to end until, at around 19:40, the final text of the Glasgow Climate Pact was agreed.

Contrast that with Dubai at 11:00 local time as delegates were still getting comfortable at their desks.

Just a few minutes after opening the final meeting and without any interventions from the floor, the UAE Consensus was agreed.

The eyes looked bleary, as they did in Glasgow.

It's no holiday for negotiators who end up locked in rooms through the day and night trying to find the common ground.

The backdrop for both conferences was worlds apart.

I don't mean the contrast between the 30 degree dry heat of the desert and the biblical rains which drenched everyone on the opening days of COP26.

Covid-19 had postponed Glasgow by a year. It was meant to have been staged in 2020.

But that shared experience of a pandemic had created a unity among nations to come up with a significant agreement.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the war between Israel and Gaza have again divided the planet.

Countries had even been struggling to agree where to hold next year's conference.

But both Glasgow and Dubai are equally weighty stepping stones in the slow journey towards a decarbonised planet.

Without Glasgow, Dubai's historic agreement to transition away from fossil would have struggled to be passed.

Most agree that the UAE Consensus must also be a stepping stone to whatever comes next.

Next year's venue has finally been agreed.

It will be in Baku, Azerbaijan, and will be my sixth COP. But it's unlikely to be as significant as my latest or my home one.