DUBAI - The world needs to focus on phasing out coal, United Arab Emirates Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei said on Thursday on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit.

"I don't think we should talk about (fossil fuel) phase out because the technologies are also improving. What if in the future we have a technology that omits all of the CO2 emissions from fossil fuel and makes it clean, as clean as any other fuel? Why should we fight it before we have the alternative?" he said. (Reporting by Maha El Dahan and Alexander Cornwell; Writing by Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)