COP28 ends with 'historic' deal on transition away from fossil fuels

At the COP28 climate summit on Wednesday, representatives from almost 200 nations decided to start cutting back on fossil fuel consumption worldwide in order to prevent the worst effects of climate change and eventually bring an end to the oil age. After two weeks of intense discussions, a deal was reached in Dubai that was intended to send a strong statement to investors and decision-makers alike about the global community’s intention to move away from fossil fuels, which scientists believe to be our best chance to prevent a global warming disaster. The agreement was dubbed “historic” by COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber, who also noted that its actual success would depend on how it was carried out. “We are what we do, not what we say,” he told the crowded plenary at the summit. “We must take the steps necessary to turn this agreement into tangible actions.” Many nations applauded the agreement for achieving something that had eluded decades of climate negotiations. “It is the first time that the world unites around such a clear text on the need to transition away from fossil fuels,” Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide said. The Saudi Arabia-led oil producer organisation, OPEC, fiercely resisted the more than 100 countries’ efforts to include strong wording in the COP28 accord that would “phase out” the use of oil, gas and coal, arguing that the world could reduce emissions without forbidding the use of any particular fuel. This struggle sent the summit into a full day of overtime on Wednesday, raising concerns among some observers that the talks would come to a deadlock. Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries control nearly 80% of the world’s proven oil reserves along with about a third of global oil output, and their governments rely heavily on those revenues. Major oil and gas producers including the United States, Canada, and Norway, as well as the European Union and numerous other governments, backed wording to phase out fossil fuels, while small, climate-vulnerable island states were among the most outspoken backers of the proposal. “This is a moment where multilateralism has actually come together and people have taken individual interests and attempted to define the common good,” U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said after the deal was adopted. The lead negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States, Anne Rasmussen, criticised the deal as unambitious. “We have made an incremental advancement over business as usual, when what we really need is an exponential step change in our actions,” she said. But she did not formally object to the pact, and her speech drew a standing ovation that lasted nearly two minutes. Danish Minister for Climate and Energy Dan Jorgensen marvelled at the circumstances of the deal: “We’re standing here in an oil country, surrounded by oil countries, and we made the decision saying let’s move away from oil and gas.” The agreement calls for “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner … so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science.” That phrase, in part, sums up what has started to unfold as a result of recent policy changes made by some governments to move towards a greener economy. Many nations have laws to promote the sale of electric vehicles, the United States and Europe have retired large fleets of coal-fired power plants, and the amount of renewable power installed globally is at historic highs. Governments are urged under the agreement to quicken this process, particularly by tripling the world’s capacity for renewable energy by 2030, stepping up efforts to cut back on coal use, and boosting the development of technology like carbon capture and storage that can help clean up industries that are difficult to decarbonise. A person with knowledge of Saudi Arabia’s stance referred to the agreement as “a menu where every country can follow its own pathway,” adding that it “shows the various tracks that will allow us to maintain the objective of 1.5 (degrees Celsius) in accordance with the characteristics of every nation and in the context of sustainable development.” The United Arab Emirates, which is hosting the meeting, and a number of other oil-producing nations have pushed for the agreement to include carbon capture. Opponents claim that the technology is still costly and has not been tested widely. Although he expressed his approval of the pact, former US Vice President Al Gore noted that “the influence of petrostates is still evident in the half measures and loopholes included in the final agreement.” After the agreement is reached, nations must fulfil their obligations through national investments and policies. China, the largest carbon polluter in the world today, recommended that developed nations set the example. Following the agreement’s approval, Zhao Yingmin, the nation’s vice environment minister, declared that “developed countries have unshirkable historical responsibilities for climate change.” Climate-conscious administrations in the United States, the world’s largest producer of gas and oil as well as the largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases, have found it difficult to get laws through a split Congress that are in line with their climate commitments. The passing of the Inflation Reduction Act last year, which included hundreds of billions of dollars in clean energy subsidies, was a significant win for US President Joe Biden. Rapid expansion in the deployment of renewable energy and electric vehicles has been fueled in recent years by growing public support spanning from Brussels to Beijing, as well as advancements in technology, falling costs, and increased private investment. Nevertheless, roughly 80% of the world’s energy comes from oil, gas, and coal, and estimates of when global consumption will peak are very speculative. The Union of Concerned Scientists’ policy director, Rachel Cleetus, commended the climate agreement but pointed out that affluent nations are not obligated to provide more funding to assist developing nations in covering the costs of their move away from fossil fuels. “The finance and equity provisions… are seriously insufficient and must be improved in the time ahead in order to ensure low- and middle-income countries can transition to clean energy and close the energy poverty gap,” she said. (With agency inputs)