Ersin Arslan / Istanbul, December 13 (HNA) – According to a new draft agreement at the COP28 Climate Summit, the world must move away from fossil fuels.
Organisers of the global climate summit offered a new proposal early Wednesday seeking to bridge a yawning divide over whether to shut down fossil fuels in the name of saving the planet.
The latest compromise text, published by the United Arab Emirates conference hosts after marathon overnight consultations, would commit countries to developing plans for “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems … in this critical decade.” It says this shift should occur “in a just, orderly, and equitable manner,” with the aim of bringing net greenhouse gas pollution to zero by 2050 — “in keeping with the science.”
The text still needs consensus approval from nearly 200 nations at the summit, any one of which could sink the deal. That decision could come as early as Wednesday.
However, there is a lack of a direct call for the phasing out of oil, coal and natural gas – a sharper wording that many countries had hoped for.
The future of fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas is in focus at the UN COP28 meeting in Dubai.
A new draft agreement has been published on Wednesday morning. In it, countries are asked to switch from fossil fuels in the energy system, in a fair and orderly way, so that the world can reach zero net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. It also underlines the importance of quick action already in this “decisive” decade for the fight against climate change.
Compared to the last draft, the language has been tightened in the calls to the countries. But over a hundred countries, including the EU, have pushed for even sharper writings on phasing out fossil fuels, which are the biggest culprit behind the emissions that warm the planet.
No call for phasing out can be found in the document.
Negotiations and discussions continued between the parties well into the night of Wednesday. According to the official schedule, COP28 would have ended on Tuesday, but there has been a protracted struggle to find wording that nearly 200 countries can get behind.
A draft published on Monday was widely criticized for being watered down and vague on the future use of fossil fuels. But countries that make money from oil and gas, or those that want financial support to switch to fossil-free, were more satisfied.
2023 will be the hottest year on record globally, with extreme weather causing death and destruction in the wake of climate change.