COP28: Draft Proposes Phase-Out Of Fossil Fuels, But Consensus Still Far Away
With the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai moving towards its last few days, there is still no consensus among the countries on an agreement to phase out fossil fuels.
A new draft of the agreement was published on Friday and included options for a historic phase-out of fossil fuels.
What the draft said
The options included in the text, which is still under negotiation, were for the final deal to call upon countries to "take further action in this critical decade towards":
- "A phase-out of fossil fuels in line with best available science"
- "Phasing out of fossil fuels in line with best available science, the IPCC's 1.5 pathways and the principles and provisions of the Paris Agreement"
- "A phase-out of unabated fossil fuels recognizing the need for a peak in their consumption in this decade and underlining the importance for the energy sector to be predominantly free of fossil fuels well ahead of 2050"
- "Phasing out unabated fossil fuels and to rapidly reducing their use so as to achieve net-zero CO2 in energy systems by or around mid-century"
- No language on the future use of fossil fuels.
The document also set out an option for a "rapid phase-out of unabated coal power this decade and an immediate cessation of the permitting of new unabated coal power generation".?
The draft also offers an option to call either for "the phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies that do not address energy poverty or just transition", or to include no text on the issue.
This is the third version of the draft, and has a new line calling for ramping up renewable energy to displace fossil fuels -- oil, gas and coal -- with a goal of "significantly reducing global reliance on non-renewable and high-emission energy sources".
Why the draft is a big deal
That language is in line with an agreement between the United States and China, the world's top emitters of greenhouse gases, at talks in California last month.
Romain Ioualalen, global policy manager of the advocacy group Oil Change International, said that the latest text "shows we have never been closer to an agreement on a fossil fuel phaseout."
Who is opposing the draft
However, it is unlikely that the draft will be passed in its current form before the COP28 concludes on December 12.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has called upon its 13 members and 10 allies to "proactively reject any text or formula that targets energy i.e. fossil fuels rather than emissions"
?"seems that the undue and disproportionate pressure against fossil fuels may reach a tipping point with irreversible consequences, as the draft decision still contains options on fossil fuels phase out" OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghai, said in a letter.
What activists say
Activists and a coalition of countries seeking ambitious climate action slammed the OPEC move.
"OPEC's desperate resistance to a fossil fuel phase-out reveals their fear of a changing tide, evident in COP28 discussions," said Cansin Leylim, associate director of global campaigns at the 350.org NGO.
"Nothing puts the prosperity and future of all people on earth, including all of the citizens of OPEC countries, at greater risk than fossil fuels," said Tina Stege, climate envoy for the Marshall Islands, which chairs the coalition.
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