COP28: “We can be quite satisfied with the level of ambition” of the agreement, believes François Gemenne, member of the IPCC

The agreement reached at the end of COP28 in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Wednesday December 13, calls for a “transition” towards the abandonment of fossil fuels. An agreement welcomed by Francis Gemennemember of the IPCCin the 12/13 news. “We must not be choosy. Of course, I too would have preferred to see an outright exit included. That being said, it was clear that there were many countries which were not ready to everything to commit to an outright exit from fossil fuels. It’s a somewhat easy position to maintain when you are the European Union, when you do not export oil and gas, and when you have already exhausted your coal”he indicates.

A “fairly skillful paraphrase”

“I find that the presidency has found a sort of fairly clever paraphrase to still talk about an exit, since it is a transition out of fossil fuels”, adds François Gemenne. “It was that or no agreement at all, and so I think we can be quite satisfied with the level of ambition carried by this text”estimates the member of the IPCC. Returning to the agreement on losses and damages signed in the first week of negotiations, François Gemenne claimed that he is “angular stone” of the “climate justice for the countries of the South”.