Approval of the final text of the COP28 summit: agreement to cut fossil fuels for the first time | outside

Climate Summit Chairman Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of the state oil company in Abu Dhabi, stood beaming before the plenary session, praising and speaking about the “historic package.” According to him, there is a strong action plan on the table to keep the target of a maximum temperature rise of 1.5 degrees compared to the pre-industrial era within reach, as agreed in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Many climate experts and environmental activists have previously expressed expressed their doubts about it.

The COP28 president’s text was announced on Wednesday morning and adopted in plenary a few hours later. The 21-page text calls on countries to transition away from fossil fuels. More than a hundred countries have previously called for stronger language, with a clear “phasing out”. In any case, the text leaves open loopholes, such as the additional use of the gas and the use of controversial technology such as carbon dioxide storage and separation.

However, the target has met the deadline of tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030 and doubling the pace of energy efficiency. The G20 countries have already decided to do so. In addition, ineffective fossil energy subsidies should be phased out “as quickly as possible” if they do not help address energy poverty or achieve a just transition.

Earlier at the climate summit, the option on the table appeared to be reaching agreements on a complete phase-out of fossil fuels. This seems to be too ambitious a plan for the petro-states to commit to. This possibility sparked a reaction from the oil cartel OPEC, among others. This means that not all OPEC member countries will agree to plans targeting fossil fuels.

This year’s climate summit is scheduled to be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This led to much criticism of the president, who is CEO of the state oil company ADNOC. During the summit, he reiterated his desire to reach the most ambitious agreements from this summit to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

On Monday, the president published a copy of the final text for the first time. This sparked many critical reactions. Among other things, there was no mention of phasing out fossil fuels. The text also reads like a kind of wish list. Countries can choose which agreements they wish to adhere to. In this version, all actions mentioned are a “call” to states.