Canada鈥檚 environment minister is hailing what he calls the 鈥渕onumental鈥� outcome of the United Nations climate summit.
Nearly 200 countries agreed Wednesday to move away from planet-warming fossil fuels 鈥� the first time they鈥檝e made that crucial pledge in decades of U.N. climate talks though many warned the deal still had significant shortcomings.
Minister Steven Guilbeault says Canada played a leading role in solidifying the deal agreed to on Wednesday to close out COP28 in Dubai.
The language of the agreement is stronger than a draft floated earlier in the week, though many warned it was undermined by loopholes.
Liz McDowell, senior campaigns director with environmental group Stand.earth, says the deal is weakened by 鈥渄angerous distractions,鈥� such as leaving the door open to so-called transitional fuels, and failing to commit wealthy countries to finance the energy transition.
The federal government made several announcements during the two-week summit, unveiling its emissions cap for the oil and gas industry and draft regulations to drastically cut methane emissions from the sector.
The agreement was approved without the floor fight many feared 鈥� and is stronger than a draft floated earlier in the week that angered several nations. But it didn鈥檛 call for an outright phasing out of oil, gas and coal 鈥� and it gives nations significant wiggle room in their 鈥渢ransition鈥� away from those fuels.
鈥淗umanity has finally done what is long, long, long overdue,鈥� Wopke Hoekstra, European Union commissioner for climate action, said as the COP28 summit wrapped up.
Within minutes of opening Wednesday鈥檚 session, COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber gaveled in approval of the central document 鈥� an evaluation of how off-track the world is on climate and how to get back on 鈥� without giving critics a chance to comment. He hailed it as a 鈥渉istoric package to accelerate climate action.鈥�
The document is the central part of the 2015 Paris accord and its internationally agreed-upon goal to try to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times. The goal is mentioned 13 times in the stocktake document and al-Jaber repeatedly called that his 鈥渘orth star.鈥� So far the world has warmed 1.2 degrees (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit) since the mid 1800s.
Several minutes after al-Jaber rammed the document through, Samoa鈥檚 lead delegate Anne Rasmussen, on behalf of small island nations, complained that they weren鈥檛 even in the room when al-Jaber said the deal was done. She said that 鈥渢he course correction that is needed has not been secured,鈥� with the deal representing business-as-usual instead of exponential emissions-cutting efforts. She said the deal could 鈥減otentially take us backward rather than forward.鈥�
When Rasmussen finished, delegates whooped, applauded and stood, as al-Jaber frowned and then eventually joined the standing ovation that stretched longer than his plaudits. Marshall Islands delegates hugged and cried.
Hours later, outside the plenary session, small island nations and European nations along with Colombia, held hands and hugged in an emotional show of support for greater ambition.
But there was more self-congratulations Wednesday than flagellations.
鈥淚 am in awe of the spirit of cooperation that has brought everybody together,鈥� United States Special Envoy John Kerry said. He said it shows that multilateralism can still work despite what the globe sees with wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. 鈥淭his document sends very strong messages to the world.鈥�
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement that 鈥渇or the first time, the outcome recognizes the need to transition away from fossil fuels.鈥�
鈥淭he era of fossil fuels must end 鈥� and it must end with justice and equity,鈥� he said.
United Nations Climate Secretary Simon Stiell told delegates their efforts were 鈥渘eeded to signal a hard stop to humanity鈥檚 core climate problem: fossil fuels and that planet-burning pollution. Whilst we didn鈥檛 turn the page on the fossil fuel era in Dubai, this outcome is the beginning of the end.鈥�
Stiell cautioned people that what they adopted was a 鈥渃limate action lifeline, not a finish line.鈥�
The new deal had been floated early Wednesday and was stronger than a draft proposed days earlier, but had loopholes that upset critics.
鈥淭he problem with the text is that it still includes cavernous loopholes that allow the United States and other fossil fuel producing countries to keep going on their expansion of fossil fuels,鈥� Center for Biological Diversity energy justice director Jean Su told The Associated Press. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a pretty deadly, fatal flaw in the text, which allows for transitional fuels to continue鈥� which is a code word for natural gas that also emits carbon pollution.
The deal also includes a call for tripling the use of renewable energy and doubling energy efficiency. Earlier in the talks, the conference adopted a special fund for poor nations hurt by climate change and nations put nearly $800 million in the fund.
The deal doesn鈥檛 go so far as to seek a 鈥減hase-out鈥� of fossil fuels, which more than 100 nations, like small island states and European nations, had pleaded for. Instead, it calls for 鈥渢ransitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade.鈥�
German climate envoy Jennifer Morgan said the difference between phase-out and transitioning away could be seen as a positive: 鈥淚 think the 鈥榩hase-out鈥� was about sending a clear signal. And I think the 鈥榡ust transition away from鈥� is a way of phrasing the phase-out with the equity component included in it鈥� for poorer nations who can鈥檛 act as quickly as richer ones.
Li Shuo of the Asia Society said when the two phrases are translated into Mandarin or Japanese there is essentially no difference.
In a press conference, Kerry called it 鈥渁 clear unambiguous message on one of the most complicated issues that we face.鈥� He said the United States wanted stronger language, but it was too much 鈥渙f a steep climb鈥� to get from 195 nations.
He said that 鈥渢here were times in the last 48 hours were some of us thought this could fail.鈥� But 鈥渨e stayed at it. People showed good faith. People stepped up.鈥�
The deal says that the transition would be done in a way that gets the world to net zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2050 and carbon pollution to peak by the year 2025, but gives wiggle room to individual nations like China to peak later.
It was the third version presented in about two weeks and the word 鈥渙il鈥� does not appear anywhere in the 21-page document, but 鈥渇ossil fuels鈥� appears twice.
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, a Nobel Peace Prize winning climate activist, said while it is an important milestone 鈥渢o finally recognize that the climate crisis is at its heart a fossil fuel crisis,鈥� he called the deal 鈥渢he bare minimum鈥� with 鈥渉alf measures and loopholes.鈥�
鈥淲hether this is a turning point that truly marks the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era depends on the actions that come next,鈥� Gore said.
READ ALSO:
READ ALSO:
