A landmark agreement reached at Cop28 calling on countries to accelerate a global shift away from fossil fuels this decade has been broadly welcomed throughout the world.
The compromise deal reached at the UN climate talks in Dubai also calls on countries to scale up cuts in carbon emissions and to quit adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere entirely by mid-century.
The deal, brokered by Cop28 president Sultan Al-Jaber, who is also chief executive of UAE state oil company Adnoc, recognises “the need for deep, rapid and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions”.
The Paris Agreement, the global roadmap for tackling the climate crisis, has been considerably strengthened by the outcome. A two-year review of climate implementation gaps, known as a global stocktake, was agreed by all 193 countries in Dubai, which enabled agreement to be secured on Wednesday after 13 days of intensive talks.
The deal also calls for parties to contribute to “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”.
Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of Opec, which had raised objections to an early draft of the agreement and has consistently resisted previous Cop attempts to curb fossil fuels, endorsed the final deal, saying it left countries free to choose their own direction in addressing climate change.
Minister for Climate Eamon Ryan said the agreement was historic “because for the first time in nearly 30 years [since global UN climate conferences have been taking place] it contains language which addresses and acknowledges fossil fuel as the primary source of climate change”.
“It’s certainly not perfect, but it’s a significant step forward for the world. It is not insignificant that for the first time in 30 years we have language in the Cop text which points to and addresses fossil fuel as the primary source of climate breakdown. The Paris Agreement is in a better place than it was yesterday,” he added.
“I know there will be discussion about the phrasing. However, transition away or phase out, the meaning and intent is the same in my view – the key thing is that the message is strong and united that we have to move away from fossil fuels,” added Mr Ryan, who was EU co-lead negotiator on climate finance issues.
[ Cop28 deal on shelving fossil fuels falls short ‘without people power’Opens in new window ]
Chair of the Elders Mary Robinson, who led calls with civil society groups for an unequivocal “phase-out” of fossil fuels to ensure the possibility of keeping global temperature rise to within 1.5 degrees, accepted it signalled “the need to bring about the end of the fossil fuel era”.
If keeping global temperature rise to a limit of 1.5 degrees “is our north star, and science our compass, we must swiftly phase out all fossil fuels to chart a course towards a liveable future”, she added.
“Despite immense pressure from oil and gas interests, high-ambition countries courageously stood their ground and sealed the fate of fossil fuels,” said World Resources Institute president Ani Dasgupta. “Now a critical test is whether far more finance is mobilised for developing countries to help make the energy transition possible.”
Climate campaigners and aid agencies criticised the outcome, especially adaptation measures to support vulnerable states, and a lack of finance to support their transition.
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