Historic COP28 deal in Dubai signals a paradigm shift with unprecedented commitment to transition away from fossil fuels
After nearly two weeks of intense negotiations in Dubai, nearly 200 nations meeting in Dubai on Wednesday reached a historic deal on a “transition away from fossil fuels.”
“ADOPTED: With an unprecedented reference to transitioning away from all fossil fuels, The UAE Consensus is delivering a paradigm shift that has the potential to redefine our economies,” the official page of COP28 wrote on X.
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‘PROUD OF OUR HISTORIC ACHIEVEMENT ‘
At the UN climate summit here, COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber said, he was “rightly proud” of its role in bringing “transformational change” to the planet. “We should be proud of our historic achievement and the United Arab Emirates, my country is rightly proud of its role in helping to move this forward,” Sultan Al Jaber said. “The world needed to find a new way. And by following our North Star, we have found that new path,” he added.
A draft cover decision of the Dubai climate talks released early in the morning called for a “deep, rapid and sustained” reduction in planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions in line with 1.5 degree-Celsius pathways. The text called for “accelerating action” during “this critical decade” — providing more urgency than an earlier proposal widely dismissed by green-minded countries.
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‘OLD DRAFT DREW CRITICISM’
The previous draft drew criticism from some quarters for offering a list of options that “could” be taken to combat the dangerous warming of the planet. The new draft explicitly “calls on” all nations to contribute through a series of actions. The actions include “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 calls for phase-downs of “unabated coal power” — meaning that coal with carbon capture technology to reduce emissions, panned by many environmentalists as unrealistic, could continue. It advocates “phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that do not address energy poverty or just transitions, as soon as possible”. However, it does not call for a “phase-out” of fossil fuels.
(With agency inputs)
