With UN talks collapsing, the world has no plan to adapt to climate change

The United Nations climate summit in Dubai promises to be full of drama in its final days - in part because talks on whether to phase out global fossil fuels appear to have collapsed. One of the main goals of this year's conference, known as COP28, is a "global inventory" documenting the world's climate progress and next steps on climate. But as of Monday, any reference to ending the use of oil and gas has disappeared from the draft text, leading to widespread anger among climate advocates. Former US Vice President Al Gore declared that the conference was "on the brink of total failure". But the well-publicized debate over fossil fuels threatens to overshadow another major issue heading into the negotiations as the clock ticks down: whether world leaders can agree on how to adapt their countries' infrastructure to withstand global warming. As disasters caused by climate change continue to make headlines around the world, the fate of millions of people in particularly vulnerable regions such as Africa and Southeast Asia hangs on this question. (Naveena Sadasivam and Jake Bittle)