Dubai: Representatives from nearly 200 countries on Wednesday unanimously adopted a global stocktake at Climate Conference COP28 and called for countries to “transition away from fossil fuels” in the energy system.
“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,” as per the Global Stocktake text.
The deal struck in Dubai after two weeks of hard-fought negotiations was meant to send a powerful signal to investors and policy-makers that the world is now united in its desire to break with fossil fuels.
The new draft has been adopted after the previous text was criticised for not including “phase out” the fossil fuel, as demanded by many summit participants.
The text recognises the need for deep, rapid and sustained reductions if humanity is to limit temperature rises to 1.5C
This is the first time in three decades of COP climate summits that nations have agreed on a concerted move away from oil, gas and coal, which account for 80 per cent of global energy.
Speaking at the closing plenary, President COP28, , Dr. Sultan Al Jaber said, ” The UAE Consensus. For People and Planet” …adding that
it is the moment history was made. Everyone came together from day one. Everyone united, everyone acted and everyone delivered”.
Welcoming the move, Executive Secretary of UNFCCC, Simon Stiell said that COP28 also needed to signal a hard stop to humanity’s core climate problem – fossil fuels and their planet-burning pollution.
“Whilst we didn’t turn the page on the fossil fuel era in Dubai, this outcome is the beginning of the end” he said.
Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres said COP28 occurred at a decisive moment in the fight against climate change.
“It’s important that the outcome of the Global Stocktake clearly reaffirms the need for limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C & that this requires drastic reductions in emissions in this decade.
For the first time, there is a recognition of the need to transition away from fossil fuels – after many years in which the discussion of this issue was blocked”.
“Science tells us that limiting global heating to 1.5°C will be impossible without the phase out of fossil fuels. This was also recognized by a growing & diverse coalition of countries at COP28. The era of fossil fuels must end – and it must end with justice & equity” he said on X.
Norway’s climate minister Espen Barth Eide says fossil fuels have been “the elephant in the room” At no previous conference of the parties, or COP, have nations agreed on a concerted move away from oil, gas and coal.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said The agreement reached on the COP 28 climate summit could speed up the transition to a cleaner and healthier economy and keep the world on track to meet the climate goals of the Paris Agreement,
“It is good news for the whole world that we now have a multilateral agreement to accelerate emission reductions towards net zero by 2050, with urgent action in this critical decade,” von der Leyen said in a statement.
“The world has committed to tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling the rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030. This gives powerful momentum to the transition away from fossil fuels.”
The new agreement text also addresses the concerns of countries like India on a phase-down of coal usage. Countries have already agreed on a phase-down of “unabated” coal two years ago in Glasgow.
