BREAKING: COP28: World Leaders Strike Deal On Fossil Fuels Phase-out

World leaders at the ongoing climate summit on Wednesday adopted the “UAE Consensus” to transition from fossil fuel after two weeks of deliberations and negotiations.

The COP28 President, Sultan Al Jaber, announced the deal reached at the closing plenary in Dubai.

“In unity and solidarity, we will walk the new path that The UAE Consensus has set for the world,” he said

This is the first time such an agreement has been reached in almost three decades of COP negotiations.

This year’s COP which began on 30 November was expected to conclude on 12 December. However, the lingering contentious issues such as fossil fuel phase-out/down, poor financing of Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) and wordings contained in several text drafts pushed the negotiation forward by extra hours.

Throughout the night, clusters of delegates wandering at the COP’s Expo centre after an initial disappointing text were hoping that the final wording could be strengthened.

“Transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science,” the adopted text reads.

Fossil fuels account for over 75 per cent of GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions that cause climate change. Scientists have called for the phase-out of fossil fuels which they say is the best way to achieve 1.5 degrees Celsius.

PREMIUM TIMES reports that the adopted text, part of the Global Stocktake, is a major component of this year’s conference. It called for accelerating efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal power.