While COP28 in Dubai supposedly tries to cut carbon emissions, two countries could go to war over Oil. Venezuela has laid claim to the Essequibo area of Guyana for over two centuries, and a short-lived indigenous secession attempt, possibly Venezuela-backed, took place in 1969.  Guyana brought the matter to the International Court of Justice ('The Hague') in 2018, but Venezuela did not take part. Oil discovery in Guyana in 2016 and again in recent months has increased the stakes, with Venezuela holding a referendum on December 3, 2023 on approving an annexation of Essequibo.