COP28 in landmark deal to transition away from fossil fuels
RIYADH, December 13, 2023
Representatives from nearly 200 countries agreed at the COP28 climate summit today (December 13) to begin reducing global consumption of fossil fuels to avert the worst of climate change, signalling the eventual end of the oil age.
The deal struck in Dubai after two weeks of hard-fought negotiations was meant to send a powerful message to investors and policy-makers that the world is united in its desire to break with fossil fuels, something scientists say is the last best hope to stave off climate catastrophe, reported Reuters.
COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber called the deal "historic" but added that its true success would be in its implementation.
"We are what we do, not what we say," he told the crowded plenary at the summit. "We must take the steps necessary to turn this agreement into tangible actions."
Several countries cheered the deal for accomplishing something that until now eluded decades of climate talks.
"It is the first time that the world unites around such a clear text on the need to transition away from fossil fuels," Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide said.
More than 100 countries had lobbied hard for strong language in the COP28 agreement to "phase out" oil, gas and coal use, but came up against powerful opposition from the Saudi Arabia-led oil producer group Opec, which said the world can cut emissions without shunning specific fuels.
That battle pushed the summit a full day into overtime on Wednesday, and had some observers worried the negotiations would end at an impasse.
The deal arguably marks the most important global climate moment since the 2015 Paris agreement, which established a goal of keeping the Earth’s warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).
At the same time, it reflects the reluctance of many countries to abandon the oil, gas and coal that have powered their economies and enriched their citizens since the Industrial Revolution.
It explicitly recommends “transitioning away from fossil fuels” that are dangerously heating the Earth. It comes after nearly two weeks of furious debate at the summit, where diplomats from Saudi Arabia and other major oil exporters had pushed to prolong the era of oil, gas and coal, reported the Washington Post.
Opec Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais had said in a letter dated December 6 to Opec members and allies at COP28 that the world should target emissions rather than fossil fuels themselves, rallying them to oppose any deal targeting oil.
Oil producers have argued that fossil fuels can be cleansed of their climate impact by using technology that can capture and store carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon capture, however, is expensive and has yet to be proven at scale.
Delegates from low-lying island nations, which face an existential threat from rising seas, had advocated for the deal to endorse a “phaseout” or “phasedown” of fossil fuel production and use.
In the end, sleep-deprived diplomats compromised on the language about transitioning away from fossil fuels, which is weaker than a phaseout but stronger than the oil exporters would have liked, it stated.
The deal came swiftly - with no discussion or objection - in a packed room in Dubai following two weeks of negotiations and rising contention. It is the first time a global climate deal has specifically called to curb the use of fossil fuels, reported the Washington Post.
US climate envoy John Kerry said that no side can ever achieve everything in negotiations and praised the deal as a sign a war-torn world can come together for the common good.
"I think everyone has to agree this is much stronger and clearer as a call on 1.5 than we have ever heard before, and it clearly reflects what the science says," Kerry said. "We will continue to press for a more rapid transition."
“The Paris agreement and the global stock take both stress the importance of developing and updating long-term strategies in order to reduce emissions and enhance resilience,” he added.
Seeking to avoid the geopolitical tensions that have strained cooperation on other issues, Kerry met ahead of COP28 with his counterpart from China, leading to a joint call by the world's two largest emitters to step up renewable energy.
A source familiar with Saudi Arabia's thinking told Reuters that that the deal struck at the climate summit is agreeable because it provides a "menu" for every country to follow its own pathway to the energy transition.
Danish Minister for Climate and Energy Dan Jorgensen marveled at the circumstances of the deal: "We're standing here in an oil country, surrounded by oil countries, and we made the decision saying let's move away from oil and gas."
The deal specifically calls for "transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner ... so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science."
It also calls for a tripling of renewable energy capacity globally by 2030, speeding up efforts to reduce coal use, and accelerating technologies such as carbon capture and storage that can clean up hard-to-decarbonize industries, said the minister.
Now that the deal is struck, countries are responsible for delivering on the agreements through national policies and investments, he added.
On the deal, Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said: "The UAE has marked a historic achievement with the UAE Consensus that not only highlights a paradigm shift in climate action, but also charts a new course to our North Star – to keep 1.5 within reach."
"At the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, our mandate was to drive nation-wide action in the lead up to COP28, and to mobilize all stakeholders. Over the course of the year, we have raised ambition and built momentum towards the very goals that the UAE Consensus has achieved," she stated.
"The National Green Retreat we launched to mobilize the partnership of all ministries to drive climate action was one of the first successful steps. From the roll out of our Net Zero 2050 Strategy to submitting the Third Update to the Second Nationally Determined Contribution – the third by the UAE in less than three years – and presenting the National Adaptation Plan, we rallied all stakeholders, listening to them and integrating their feedback, for tangible action – to cut emissions and activate all pathways towards a cleaner future," she added.
