Cop28 Agreement Calls for Fossil Fuel Phase Out

Updated Dec. 13, 2023, 10:00 a.m. EST

• For the first time, the Cop28 summit agreement calls on countries to transition away from fossil fuels. Many leaders are unsatisfied with the agreement, as it cannot require countries to move away from the resource.
• The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), representing the countries on the frontlines of climate change but have contributed little emissions to cause it, said the text contains "a litany of loopholes." Anne Rasmussen of Samoa, speaking on behalf of AOSIS, said:

"It is not enough for us to reference the science and then make agreements that ignore what the science is telling us we need to do...This is not an approach that we should be asked to defend."

• Dan Jørgensen, Denmark's climate minister, said:

"It's embarrassing that it took 28 years but now we're finally there. Now it finally seems like the world has acknolwedged that we need to move away from fossil [fuels]."

Updated Dec. 11, 2023, 2:30 p.m. EST

• The U.N.'s draft deal from the Cop28 summit highlights various options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but stops short of suggesting a phase-out of fossil fuels, which many governments and activists have demanded. 
• This draft will lead to the final round of negotiations in Dubai. Cop28 President Sultan al-Jaber, head of the UAE's oil company, says the countries "still have a lot to do" ahead of the end of the conference.
• U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said a prominent benchmark of success will be whether or not Cop28 yields a deal to phase out fossil fuels. 

What’s the story?

• The head of the 2023 U.N. Climate Change Conference, or Cop28, stated that there is no scientific evidence that fossil fuels must be phased out to mitigate the climate crisis. 
• Sultan al-Jaber, chief executive of the United Arab Emirates state-oil-run company, Adnoc, is leading the talks from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 in Dubai. He made the comment a little over a week before the conference began. 
• Al-Jaber also said a phase-out of fossil fuels would not allow sustainable development “unless you want to take the world back into caves.” These comments came after questions from Mary Robinson, chair of the Elders group and a former U.N. special envoy for climate change. In the meeting, Robinson said:

“We’re in an absolute crisis…and it’s because we have not yet committed to phasing out fossil fuel. That is the one decision that Cop28 can take and in many ways, because you’re head of Adnoc, you could actually take it with more credibility.”

• To this, al-Jaber responded:

“I accepted to come to this meeting to have a sober and mature conversation. I’m not in any way signing up to any discussion that is alarmist. There is no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says that the phase-out of fossil fuel is what’s going to achieve 1.5C.”

• On Monday, al-Jaber sought to clarify those comments in a press conference, saying they were taken out of context, insisting he does support science. He said:

“We’re here because we very much believe and respect the science.”

The response

• Climate scientists said the comments were “incredibly concerning” and consistently maintain that the only path to limit climate change is by phasing out fossil fuels. 
• António Guterres, U.N. secretary general, said to Cop28 delegates on Friday: 

“The science is clear: The 1.5C limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning all fossil fuels. Not reduce, not abate. Phase out, with a clear timeframe.”

• Chief executive of Climate Analytics, Bill Hare, said:

“This is an extraordinary, revealing, worrying and belligerent exchange. ‘Sending us back to caves’ is the oldest of fossil fuel industry tropes: it’s verging on climate denial.”

• Professor Sir David King, chair of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group and former UK chief scientific adviser, said: 

“It is incredibly concerning and surprising to hear the Cop28 president defend the use of fossil fuels. It is undeniable that to limit global warming to 1.5C we must all rapidly reduce carbon emissions and phase-out the use of fossil fuels by 2035 at the latest. The alternative is an unmanageable future for humanity.”

• Harjeet Singh of Climate Action Network said:

“Cop28 must deliver a decision on phasing out fossil fuels in a just and equitable manner, without any loopholes or escape routes for the industry to continue expanding and exacerbating the climate crisis.”

• A spokesperson for Cop28 highlighted the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s scenario where fossil fuels play a small role in the future energy system. They continued:

“The Cop president was quoting the science, and leading climate experts."

Want to get involved in the cause?

• Today, 3.6 billion people face the impacts of climate change. Everyone - on all sides of the globe, from all backgrounds - deserves a safe climate and a secure future. Give back to the Earth by adding your name to 350.org's petition to urge government leaders to hold oil corporations accountable. Just a few seconds can make a difference. Learn about more ways to give back here. 

Tell your reps to reject climate denial and commit to phasing out fossil fuels.

-Jamie Epstein

(Photo credit: Flickr/UNclimatechange)