Leaders of the COP28 urge a “transition away” from fossil fuels in the last push of the climate negotiations
Dubai —A compromise agreement calling for a global shift away from fossil fuels was put forth by United Arab Emirates officials presiding over the UN climate conference on Wednesday. The goal of the agreement was to reconcile the views of major energy-producing nations and those who wish to phase out coal, oil, and natural gas completely.
A fair, orderly, and equitable transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems is what the proposed agreement, which was drafted during all-night negotiations, asks for. It states that in order to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, the world economy needs to accelerate its transition to renewable energy this decade. According to scientists, doing so is essential to implementing the historic Paris Climate Agreement, which mandates that nations try to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.
If the pact is accepted, it would be the first time that states have been asked to reduce their use of fossil fuels in a U.N. climate accord. Experts have long expressed this, but major fossil fuel producers, headed by Saudi Arabia, as well as rapidly emerging economies like China and India, have consistently resisted calls to phase out the use of fossil fuels.
It was still uncertain whether Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries would back the deal. The paper was offered by Sultan Al Jaber, the president of COP28 and CEO of the national oil firm of the United Arab Emirates, after consultations with delegates from over 190 nations participating in the U.N. climate summit. For the deal to be adopted, all nations must support it.
The United Arab Emirates negotiators abandoned the notion late in the discussions, despite calls for a phaseout of fossil fuels from the United States, Europe, and countries facing the worst effects of climate change. A request for comment was not answered by Saudi authorities.
The new wording on fossil fuels was instantly hailed by environmentalists.
According to Union of Concerned Scientists economist Rachel Cleetus, “text sends a strong signal that world leaders recognize that a sharp turn away from fossil fuels toward clean energy in this critical decade and beyond, aligned with the science, is essential to meet our climate goals.”
In addition, the suggested compromise asks for a doubling of the pace of energy efficiency gains and a tripling of the world’s renewable energy capacity by 2030.
