"DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — This year’s United Nations climate talks may have seen record numbers registered to attend, but activists who have spent years demonstrating at the annual event say their space to voice their demands is shrinking year on year.

Held in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates — where broad laws tightly restrict speech — climate activists have been protesting at COP28’s Blue Zone, which is considered international territory. Demonstrators say there have always been strict regulations for protests at COPs, but they say actions this year have been further limited in terms of the number of people allowed to participate and which climate issues they’re allowed to address on any given day. It’s a stark contrast, activists say, to the growing presence of the fossil fuel industry, where those linked to the industry number around 1,400, according to an Associated Press analysis.

“There’s always been a lot of restriction on civic space inside of COPs, but we are really seeing a trend of it increasing,” said Lise Masson, of Friends of the Earth International. “We have to say how loud we’re going to be, what’s going to be written on the banners. We’re not allowed to name countries and corporations. So it’s really a very sanitized space.” "

Lujain Jo and Sibi Arasu reports for the Associated Press December 6, 2023. [2]