2023-12-12 01:05:46
Late Monday afternoon, the COP28 presidency distributed a project that will serve as the basis for the climate agreement at the United Nations Climate Summit, suggesting a series of options that countries could take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. , but omitting the “phase out” of fossil fuels that many nations have advocated.
The project will set the stage for a final round of contentious negotiations at the two-week summit in Dubai that revealed deep international divisions over whether oil, gas and coal should have a place in the energy mix of the future.
COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber urged the nearly 200 countries participating in the talks to redouble their efforts to finalize a deal before the conference’s scheduled conclusion on Tuesday, saying they “still have a lot to do.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said a central benchmark of success for COP28 will be whether it produces an agreement to phase out fossil fuels quickly enough to avoid disastrous climate change.
The new draft COP28 agreement published by the United Arab Emirates proposed several options, but did not refer to a “phasing out” of all fossil fuels, which had been included in a previous draft.
Instead, it listed eight options that countries “could” use to reduce emissions, including: “reducing the consumption and production of fossil fuels, in a fair, orderly and equitable manner, so as to reach net zero by, sooner or around 2050.” It should be noted that this is the first time in 30 years that fossil fuels have been mentioned at a UN Climate Summit. Many observers consider this an important result of COP28, although further climate mitigation actions are needed.
The 21-page agreement would, if adopted, be the first to specifically call for reducing the use of all fossil fuels, including oil and gas, marking a historic shift in the UN treaty governing the global fight against climate change. But for many countries it does not go far enough, falling short of a complete phase-out and offering nations other alternatives.
Other actions listed included tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030, “rapidly phasing out coal” and scaling up technologies, including those to capture CO2 emissions and keep them out of the atmosphere.
A coalition of more than 100 countries, including major oil and gas producers, the United States, Canada and Norway, as well as the European Union and island nations, wanted a deal that included clear language to phase out fossil fuels. Emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are by far the main driver of climate change.
The US State Department called for the text of the agreement to be strengthened, while the European Union said the new text was disappointing.
Representatives from the Pacific island nations of Samoa and the Marshall Islands, which are already suffering the impacts of rising sea levels, said the project was a death sentence.
“We cannot sign a text that does not have a strong commitment to the progressive elimination of fossil fuels,” said Samoa’s Environment Minister, Cedric Schuster.
A new draft of the document is expected on Tuesday, which would leave little time for further disagreement before the conference’s scheduled end on the same day. Although COP summits rarely finish on time.
Sources familiar with the discussions said the UAE was pressured by Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of the OPEC group of oil producers, to remove any mention of fossil fuels from the text.
It was unclear whether China, currently the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, supported the project. Upon leaving their pavilion, senior members of the Chinese delegation, including chief envoy Xie Zhenhua, did not answer questions.
But observers noted that some of the document’s language was in line with China’s previous policy positions, as well as the Sunnylands agreement signed by China and the United States in November.
The Sunnylands agreement did not use controversial phrases such as “phase out” but instead called for the accelerated replacement of coal, oil and gas with renewable energy sources and supported a commitment to tripling renewable energy by 2030.
On the other hand, Brazilian climate negotiator Ana Toni said: “This is an attempt to include everyone’s perspectives and not exclude anyone.”
For oil-producing nations, a global agreement at COP28 to abandon fossil fuels – even without a definitive end date – could signal a political will by other nations to reduce their use of the lucrative products on which fuel-producing economies depend.
Speaking to ministers and negotiators on Sunday, a representative of the Saudi Arabian delegation said a COP28 agreement should not cherry-pick energy sources but rather focus on cutting emissions.
This position reflects an appeal made by OPEC in a letter to its members at the start of the Summit, which asked them to oppose any language that directly targets fossil fuels.
Agreements at UN climate summits must be approved by consensus among the almost 200 countries present. This high standard aims to establish consensus on the world’s next steps to address climate change, which individual countries must then deliver on through their national policies and investments.
Developing countries have said that any COP28 agreement to reform the global energy system must be accompanied by sufficient financial support to help them do so.
“We need support as developing countries and economies for a just transition,” said Colombia’s Environment Minister Susana Muhamad. Colombia supports a COP28 agreement to phase out fossil fuels.
Despite the rapid growth of renewable energy, fossil fuels still produce around 80% of the world’s energy.
By Economic Editor
Angola Portal
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