But even EU countries clashed over how ambitious to be - and their ministers were locked in talks into the evening on Monday. The faultlines tended to fall between wealthier EU members seeking rapid climate action, and poorer economies concerned about the cost of quitting fossil fuels. Another submission, by Saudi Arabia, did not explicitly mention a fossil fuel phase-out. 'NOT VERY HOPEFUL'The resistance shows how hard it will be to strike an ambitious climate deal at COP28. "I am not very hopeful," Carlos Fuller, U.N. climate negotiator for Belize, said of the fossil fuels phase-out - which Belize supports.

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Persons: Wolfgang Rattay, Carlos Fuller, COP28, Jennifer Morgan, Natalie Jones, Kate Abnett, Glwadys Fouche, Katy Daigle, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Diplomats, Reuters, African Group, International Institute for Sustainable Development, Thomson Locations: Niederaussem, Germany, Rights BRUSSELS, Poland, Czech Republic, COP28, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Belize, COP27, China, Japan, United States, Colombia, Norway, U.N, Paris, Oslo