Dive Brief:
- The demand for a “phase out” of fossil fuels was scratched from the latest COP28 draft agreement released by the United Nations’ climate body on Monday, smothering efforts to reach a global consensus on reducing and ultimately halting the production and use of coal, oil and natural gas.
- The document said parties at the climate summit recognize “the need for deep, rapid and sustained reductions in GHG emissions” and suggested a variety of actions that “could” reduce their carbon footprint — a downgrade from a previous version of the text that proposed an “an orderly and just phase out of fossil fuels.
- The updated text prompted widespread criticism from climate advocates in the United States, the European Union and other countries, who blamed petrostates for extinguishing efforts to adeptly address the threats posed by global warming.
Dive Insight:
The fourth iteration of the text swapped eliminating fossil fuels completely with a suggestion to reduce "both consumption and production of fossil fuels, in a just, orderly and equitable manner so as to achieve net zero by, before, or around 2050.”
The document listed other recommendations countries could take to reduce their emissions, such as tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling the average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements globally by 2030. The draft also recommends shifting towards net-zero emissions energy systems and utilizing zero and low carbon fuels by or around 2050, and accelerating the production and use of zero and low emissions technologies, including renewables, nuclear, abatement and removal technologies.
The updated draft agreement was released shortly after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries asked member states to steer clear of any COP28 proposal that would hinder the continued production and use of fossil fuels. Haitham Al Ghais, a Kuwaiti oil executive and OPEC’s secretary general, wrote to all 13 OPEC countries and 10 other major oil producing states that are part of an expanded group known as OPEC Plus in a Dec. 6 letter, urging them to “proactively reject any text or formula that targets energy i.e. fossil fuels rather than emissions.”
The diluted fossil fuels strategy in the latest COP28 draft text was perceived as a concession to major oil-producing countries, such as Saudi Arabia, who had openly voiced their disapproval about the restrictive measure.
“COP28 is now on the verge of complete failure,” climate advocate and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “This obsequious draft reads as if OPEC dictated it word for word.”
Gore said the latest iteration of the agreement was “deeply offensive” and “worse than many had feared,” and came across as an approach that was “Of the Petrostates, By the Petrostates and For the Petrostates.”
COP28 is now on the verge of complete failure. The world desperately needs to phase out fossil fuels as quickly as possible, but this obsequious draft reads as if OPEC dictated it word for word. It is even worse than many had feared. It is “Of the Petrostates, By the Petrostates…
— Al Gore (@algore) December 11, 2023
Other environmental activists echoed Gore’s stance: Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy at Climate Action Network International, called the updated draft text a “significant regression” from previous versions.
“This is a clear indication of the fossil fuel industry's lobbying power, influencing global policies to favor prolonged fossil fuel use,” Singh said in a statement.
