--- title: The COP28 Outcomes Business Leaders Are Watching For description: The climate negotiations can move the market over time, and it’s worth paying attention to the signal that emerges from Dubai. canonical: https://time.com/6341220/cop28-what-business-leaders-are-watching-for/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-11-30T21:26:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T16:46:19.453Z article:section: Climate og:title: The COP28 Outcomes Business Leaders Are Watching For og:description: The outcome of the climate negotiations can create “a transformation of the mindset.” og:url: https://time.com/6341220/cop28-what-business-leaders-are-watching-for/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92967f999cdb5a28/698a42d5e6e84ae18e2b0c2e/COP28-climate-change.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: COP28 In UAE og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The COP28 Outcomes Business Leaders Are Watching For twitter:description: The outcome of the climate negotiations can create “a transformation of the mindset.” twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92967f999cdb5a28/698a42d5e6e84ae18e2b0c2e/COP28-climate-change.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The COP28 Outcomes Business Leaders Are Watching For > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=489325d7-5cc5-4307-a3b9-cbbc2c88a8ed&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Friday (1x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Justin Worland, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Senior leaders shaping the climate transition. An engaged audience of executives and decision-makers spanning operating companies, finance, policy, consulting, communications and media. ### TIME Future Proof: key statements * Future Proof is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Future Proof is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=489325d7-5cc5-4307-a3b9-cbbc2c88a8ed&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/subscribe?i=489325d7-5cc5-4307-a3b9-cbbc2c88a8ed&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's climate and energy newsletter? Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Justin Worland/Dubai](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland/Dubai Senior Correspondent Nov 30, 2023 9:26 PM UTC  The COP28 venue in Dubai on Nov. 30. The COP28 venue in Dubai on Nov. 30. Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto—Getty Images  by [Justin Worland/Dubai](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland/Dubai Senior Correspondent Nov 30, 2023 9:26 PM UTC (_To get this story in your inbox, subscribe to the TIME CO2 Leadership Report newsletter_ [_here_](https://www.time.com/co2-newsletter)_._) The U.N. [climate](https://time.com/section/climate/) conference known as [COP28](https://time.com/6340761/top-three-issues-at-cop28/) officially kicked off this afternoon in Dubai with more corporate executives and big players in the financial sector present than in any such meeting before. Much of their attention on the ground will focus on the private sector announcements made and deals struck, but there's a reason for private sector folks to pay attention to the seemingly wonky official negotiations taking place between countries in Dubai’s Expo City convention center. For many businesses, the conversations can seem overly procedural and disconnected from the day-to-day reality of cutting a firm’s emissions. And yet these negotiations can move the market over time, and it’s worth paying attention to the signal that emerges from Dubai. To understand how such influence can spread from [COP negotiation](https://time.com/6336568/sultan-al-jaber-climate-business-cop28/) halls, look no further than the negotiations that took place in Paris in 2015\. Countries agreed to come up with plans to limit average global warming to well-below 2°C over pre-industrial temperatures. The commitment was non-binding for countries and had even less of an immediate impact for companies. And yet the Paris Agreement has become a key benchmark for climate-concerned investors and companies. CEOs refer to “Paris alignment” to explain their decarbonization progress. There are now funding systems that act as investment vehicles designed specifically to support companies working towards the Paris targets. And some, if not enough, deals are reached or rejected because of these priorities. Laurence Tubiana, the head of the European Climate Foundation and a key framer of the deal, described this to me as “a transformation of the mindset.” “The Paris Agreement \[became\] the norm, the reference for everybody to know where to go,” she [told me](https://time.com/5920387/paris-agreement-laurence-tubiana) in 2020. What is the signal that might emerge from Dubai? As I’ve written [here before](https://time.com/6335225/sultan-al-jaber-cop28-interview), perhaps the biggest area of debate centers on the [future of fossil fuels](https://time.com/6340659/sultan-al-jaber-oil-lobbying-cop28/). Negotiators are trying to find common ground on how the world should view oil, gas, and coal. Getting through the negotiations remains a tall order, but any collective agreement that is serious about phasing out fossil fuels will signal to investors and companies that policymakers remain—at least in principle—committed to addressing climate change. That reality should at the very least make backers of fossil fuel expansion pause to take stock. On the flip side, failure to reach a deal on fossil fuels would signal that countries have lost their fortitude, and the speed of the energy transition may be slower than hoped. Fossil fuels are just the start. Delegates are trying to find the best ways to commit public money to advancing private clean energy projects in emerging markets. Outcomes that advance this so-called blended finance approach could create new opportunities for investors interested in funding clean energy deployment. Those two changes alone will shape the allocation of billions of dollars in capital, and spread across the economy, and they’re just the most obvious ones. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6341220/cop28-what-business-leaders-are-watching-for/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6341220/cop28-what-business-leaders-are-watching-for/"},"headline":"The COP28 Outcomes Business Leaders Are Watching For","datePublished":"2023-11-30T21:26:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T16:46:19.453Z","description":"The climate negotiations can move the market over time, and it’s worth paying attention to the signal that emerges from Dubai.","url":"https://time.com/6341220/cop28-what-business-leaders-are-watching-for/","keywords":["Leadership Report","climate change","healthscienceclimate"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92967f999cdb5a28/698a42d5e6e84ae18e2b0c2e/COP28-climate-change.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland/Dubai"}],"articleSection":"Climate","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92967f999cdb5a28/698a42d5e6e84ae18e2b0c2e/COP28-climate-change.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"COP28 In UAE","caption":"COP28 In UAE","creditText":"Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/climate/","name":"Climate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/co2-leadership-report/","name":"Leadership Report"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6341220/cop28-what-business-leaders-are-watching-for/","name":"The COP28 Outcomes Business Leaders Are Watching For"}}]}] ```