Countries reach ‘historic’ COP28 deal to transition from fossil fuels

Countries at the COP28 climate summit have for the first time reached a deal to transition away from fossil fuels in an attempt to reach global net zero emissions by 2050.

But despite COP28 president Sultan al-Jaber hailing the agreement as “historic”, the deal was criticised by 39 small-island nations that complained it was pushed through without their support.

The text asks all countries to set “ambitious” emissions targets over the next two years that take into account their fossil fuel use, in an effort to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

But it also recognised that targets should be set “in light of different national circumstances”, ack­now­ledging that poorer nations may find cutting emissions more difficult than wealthier countries. 

The future role of fossil fuels has been the main issue at COP28, hosted in the United Arab Emirates, one of the world’s largest oil and gas producers.

A draft document this week had dropped references to phasing out fossil fuels, triggering outrage from diplomats who accused Saudi Arabia and other Opec countries of hindering efforts to tackle global warming.

European, Latin American and vulnerable island states, as well as the US and UK, intensified efforts over the past day to obtain a stronger agreement on the ditching of oil, gas and coal.

Dubbed the UAE Consensus, the agreement “calls on parties to contribute” to take actions including “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”.

Global emissions, which continue to soar as oil and gas production hits a record, are estimated to rise another 2 per cent this year. In contrast, a cut of 43 per cent is required by 2030 if the world is to stick to the 2015 Paris agreement to limit warming to 1.5C. The UN has calculated that even if nations meet all their pledges, the world is on track for a temperature rise of up to 2.9C.

The final agreement came after a night of intense consultations that lasted into the early hours of the morning. Jaber held meetings with ministers and diplomats, including US climate envoy John Kerry, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and officials from Samoa, Australia, Canada and the EU.

Ministers from around the world, including the EU and Canada, praised the Dubai deal, which comes at the end of the hottest year on record.

Kerry said the agreement was a cause for “optimism” and sent a “very strong message to the world”. 

But he added: “Many people would have liked clear language about the need to begin peaking and reducing fossil fuels in this critical decade. But we know this [agreement] was a compromise between many parties.”

Dan Jørgensen, Denmark’s minister for development co-operation and global climate policy, one of two delegates leading the so-called global stock-take for COP28, said the agreement was “very, very good”.

“What we’re basically saying is the way you make your living now . . . you need to change because we’re moving away from fossils. Fossils are not the future,” he said. “Did we solve all problems? Of course not.”

Announcing the deal, Jaber, who is also head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, said: “We have language on fossil fuels in our final agreement for the first time ever . . . We have set the world in the right direction.”

However, a lack of detail on how poorer countries with debt piles would fund a shift from fossil fuels was criticised.

Anna Rasmussen, chief negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States, said: “We are a little confused about what just happened. It seems that you gavelled the decisions and the small-island developing states were not in the room.”

Rasmussen told the plenary that “the course correction that is needed has not been secured” and warned of a “litany of loopholes” in the text.

“We have made an incremental advancement over business as usual when what we really needed is an exponential step change in our actions and support,” she said.

Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group of more than 200 scientists and researchers, said while the agreement was “pretty good”, it was “sorely lacking” when it came to financing the shift away from fossil fuels, particularly in poorer countries. “We won’t get to where we need to without the financing,” she added.

The accord also highlights a role for “transitional fuels”, which is likely to be contentious because some countries and climate experts argue it supports the continued use of gas.

It also calls for a tripling of global renewable energy capacity by 2030 and for countries to accelerate developing low-emission technologies including nuclear, low-carbon hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.

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It’s all too easy to point out flaws in the COP28 deal / From Zafar Jamati, Head of Content, Stone Junction PR Agency, Stafford, Staffordshire, UK