Countries attending the United Nations climate meeting, known as COP28, in Dubai, have endorsed the recently proposed first-ever accord, which was unveiled early Wednesday (Dec 13) and calls for “transitioning away” from fossil fuels but falls short of calling for a “phase out.” Nations decided to shift away from fossil fuels for the first time in the nearly three-decade history of UN climate conferences. According to the news agency AFP, the current language comes after another full night of bargaining and would also call for “accelerating action” during “this critical decade.”
The Agreement does not call for a “phase-out” of fossil fuels, which had been sought by most countries
The draft was intended to reflect the consensus opinion of over 200 countries gathered, as several governments have urged for strong language to herald the end of the fossil fuel era. For the first time, the deal would call on governments to take measures to transition away from fossil fuels in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change. The agreed accord is more urgent than an earlier draft, which was widely ridiculed and criticized for providing a list of measures that “could” be implemented to address global warming. The most recent draft specifically “calls on” all states to take a number of activities and contribute to the efforts.
The goals are as follows: “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science.” It also asks for a tripling of global renewable energy capacity by 2030, the phase-out of “unabated coal power,” and the acceleration of technologies such as carbon capture. While the agreement reportedly calls for “phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that do not address energy poverty or just transitions, as soon as possible,” it does not call for a “phase-out” of fossil fuels, which had been sought by most countries in the West as well as island nations who are particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate change.