Cop28: Australia, US and UK say they won’t sign agreement that would be ‘death certificate’ for small islands

Australia’s climate change minister Chris Bowen speaks at Cop28 in Dubai. In a statement on behalf of the umbrella group of countries that includes the US and the UK, he said the goal of keeping global temperature rises to 1.5C was ‘not up for compromise’. Photograph: Kamran Jebreili/AP

A group of countries including Australia, the US, the UK, Canada and Japan have said they will “not be a co-signatory” to “death certificates” for small island states, and have demanded a stronger agreement at the Cop28 summit to deal with fossil fuels and address the climate crisis.

A statement delivered by the Australian climate change minister, Chris Bowen, on behalf of what’s known as the umbrella group of countries, came as tensions flared at the United Arab Emirates over the text of a draft deal proposed by the summit presidency.