FEEM - COP28 ends with historic deal to shift away from fossil fuels

2023-12-13 03:48:04 ET

Nearly 200 countries at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai have agreed to transition away from fossil fuels in a first of its kind deal that will likely usher in the end of the fossil fuel era.

The deal had to be revised after the initial draft faced opposition from some countries as it didn't include strong enough wording on phasing out fossil fuels.

The new agreement is the first United Nations climate deal that has pushed for countries to cut back on fossil fuels. "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," said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.

While calling on countries to shift away from fossil fuels "in a just, orderly and equitable manner" to achieve net zero by 2050, the deal insists that the global transition to clean energy should ramp up this decade.

The draft text calls for "tripling renewable energy capacity globally and doubling the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030."

It also calls for accelerating efforts towards phasing down unabated coal power, and substantially reducing methane emissions by 2030. However, it did not call for an absolute phase-out of hydrocarbons.

"We're standing here in an oil country, surrounded by oil countries, and we made the decision saying let's move away from oil and gas," said Danish Minister for Climate and Energy Dan Jorgensen on the historic agreement.

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