Sultan Al Jaber, President of the 28th United Nations Climate Conference (COP28), banged the gavel, and thunderous applause broke out. This was a historic moment. Nearly 200 countries around the world have unanimously adopted the resolution to "transition away from fossil fuels". The end of fossil fuels starts now.
"We should be proud of this historic achievement," Jaber said.
The joy at this moment is different from the anger, frustration and disappointment two days ago. Although the climate conference originally scheduled to end on the 12th was postponed by one day, it has written a new page in history for the first Global Stocktake.
On the morning of the 13th, Dubai time, the final resolution of the 28th United Nations Climate Conference (COP28) was released, and the chairman of the conference, Sultan Al Jaber, banged the gavel.
Image source: UNclimatechange (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Fossil fuels included in climate resolution for first time
The Paris Agreement requires countries to control global average temperature rise below 2°C and strive to not exceed 1.5°C. To assess the carbon reduction gap, a stocktake is conducted every five years. COP28 must decide on a clear action plan as the basis for global climate action.
The draft resolution on the 11th stated that it was necessary to "reduce the consumption and production of fossil fuels in a fair, orderly and equitable manner" and did not mention the "phasing out of fossil fuels" that Europe, the United States and small island countries hoped for. On the morning of the 13th, the conference revised the text and changed it to "break away" from fossil fuels in a fair, orderly and equitable way, and achieve net-zero carbon emissions in 2050 in a scientific way. It was adopted without objection at the plenary meeting.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) pointed out that the adopted version of the resolution did not achieve the complete elimination of all fossil fuels, but compared with the previous draft, the wording has been greatly improved.
Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said: "We have not yet turned the page in the fossil fuel era, but this is clearly the beginning of the end."
Compared with the past, the climate conference (COP26) two years ago was the first time that the gradual reduction of coal was included in the agreement, but this time the scope is broader, covering oil and natural gas.
Espen Barth Eide, Norway's Minister of Climate and Environment, said that this is the first time that the world has united to tell everyone in clear text the need to get rid of fossil fuels. This was always the elephant in the room (obvious but willfully blind), he said, but we finally decided to confront it head on.
According to Reuters, the resolution also includes tripling global renewable energy production capacity by 2030, accelerating the removal of coal, and accelerating the development of carbon capture and storage technology to assist industries that are difficult to reduce emissions, such as heavy industries such as cement, steel, and petrochemicals. .
U.S. representative John Kerry said that "transitional fuels can only play a limited and temporary role." He emphasized that "carbon capture technology can only be applied to industries that are difficult to reduce emissions."
Oil-producing countries back off on belated gains
As global warming continues to set records, the call for phasing out fossil fuels at this year's conference is stronger than in previous years. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which is feeling the pressure, is firmly opposed to writing the phasing out of fossil fuels into a resolution.
When the president of the conference announced that the agreement had been adopted without objection, applause broke out in the venue, but the Saudi delegation did not clap together. But he said in his speech, "No matter where the emissions come from, we must use all methods to reduce emissions." The Guardian interprets this sentence to mean that carbon capture technology must be scaled up.
The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) believes that the wording in the resolution has improved compared to the previous version, but is concerned about loopholes in it. Alliance chairman Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster, Samoa's environment minister, said they were not present when the countries announced the agreed text, calling the stocktake's conclusions "weak and lacking determination."
Wopke Hoekstra, the new EU climate commissioner, pointed out that "it took us 30 years to achieve this result, but it comes too late."
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a statement on the final resolution on the social platform X: "Whether you like it or not, the phase-out of fossil fuels is inevitable. I hope this will not come too late."
The climate conference, which was originally scheduled to end on the 12th, was postponed for one day. Many protesters gathered outside the venue to demand the phase-out of fossil fuels.
Image source: UNclimatechange (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
References:
1.Guardian (December 13, 2023), COP28 Live Updates
2. Reuters (December 13, 2023), Nations strike deal at COP28 to transition away from fossil fuels
3. Reuters (December 13, 2023), Reaction to the final COP28 climate deal
4.Euronews.Green (December 13, 2023), Live. COP28: Landmark deal signals 'beginning of the end' for fossil fuels at UN climate conference
5. Washington Post (December 13, 2023), COP28 Live Updates
Source: Environmental Information Center
