Consensus in Dubai. The countries participating in COP28 agreed, Wednesday, December 13, on a final text which calls for a “transition away from fossil fuels” to fight against global warming. This text aims to accelerate action “in this crucial decade, in order to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050”. This global agreement, which aims to become the first decision of a UN climate conference to address the fate of all fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal), does not explicitly reintroduce the term “exit” demanded by the most ambitious countries, but refused by oil-producing countries, Saudi Arabia in the lead. Follow our live stream.
Sultan Al Jaber hails “historic” deal. “We have wording on fossil fuels in the final agreement, for the first time”the president of the conference was satisfied. “We should be proud of this historic success, and the United Arab Emirates, my country, is proud of its role in achieving this”, did he declare. This is a “historic decision to accelerate climate action”, he added.
François Gemenne happy with an “ambitious” agreement. François Gemenne, climatologist and lead author for the 6th IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report, also expressed his satisfaction on Wednesday on France Inter: “It’s almost historic. We are still charting a largely carbon-free future for fossil fuels. I think few would have bet on such an ambitious agreement.”
In line with the Paris agreement. Particular attention will be paid to the final text of the Paris Agreement, signed in 2015 with the aim of reducing global warming to +1.5°C, or even 2°C. The text also contains multiple calls related to energy: tripling renewable capacities and doubling the rate of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030; accelerate “zero carbon” and “low carbon” technologies, including nuclear power, low carbon hydrogen, and the nascent carbon capture and storage, defended by oil producing countries to be able to continue pumping hydrocarbons.
A first text rejected. The first draft text proposed by the Emirati presidency on Monday sparked an outcry for failing to call for “exit” fossil fuels. He only mentioned the “reduction of both consumption and production of fossil fuels”. Several countries and organizations had campaigned for a more ambitious formulation.