Dubai, 8 December 2023 (dpa/MIA) — The head of climate change policy at the United Nations has warned against political games stymieing the COP28 climate conference still under way in Dubai.

"We all know the scale of the climate crisis," Simon Stiell, head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, said at the event in the United Arab Emirates city on Friday. "COP28 must be about solutions to get all countries out of this climate mess."

Ahead of crucial days of international negotiations before the summit's end on Tuesday, Stiell said: "I don't want to see diversions and political tactics that hold climate ambition hostage."

Compromises will be essential, but "not on ambition," he stressed, calling on ministers and negotiators to think outside the box: "Climate action needs that paradigm shift."

The most contentious issue at the summit, which began on Nov. 30, is whether the countries can agree to phase out coal, oil and gas. Several are already opposing this or want to weaken the wording in the intended final declaration.