Climate conference - Climate conference extended - struggle for fossil fuel phase-out
The 200 or so countries at the World Climate Conference in Dubai continue to wrestle over the global phase-out of coal, oil and gas. The conference leader of the United Arab Emirates wanted to hold talks with representatives of states and groups of countries until late into the night in order to work towards a final declaration that would be accepted by all countries.
The most contentious issue is whether a global phase-out of coal, oil and gas can be agreed upon or whether back doors remain open - for example with formulations that open the door to a major role for CO2 storage and capture technologies. Experts consider this to be very expensive, scientifically controversial and difficult to scale up.
Storm of protest after draft text
There was a wave of outrage over a draft text published on Monday. Unlike in previous versions, the fossil fuel phase-out, which more than 100 countries have already spoken out in favor of, was no longer mentioned at all. Germany, the EU, many threatened island states and other countries rejected the text as inadequate or even a "death sentence".
The Presidency then tried to limit the damage: Director-General Madschid Al-Suwaidi said that the criticism had been expected. "In fact, we wanted the text to stimulate talks - and that's exactly what happened." However, the responsibility ultimately lies with the government delegations, which must reach unanimity.
Wrestling with states from all over the world
Late in the evening, the host said that conference president Sultan al-Jaber and his team had met day and night with the representatives of the states and country groups. "This is to ensure that everyone is heard and that all positions are taken into account," said a spokesperson.
The President of the COP28 conference is also the President of the state oil company. Despite this, he repeatedly emphasized during the conference that he wanted to reach an ambitious conclusion and keep the internationally agreed target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees within reach.
Eight years after the Paris Agreement
The German group Fridays for Future pointed out on X, formerly Twitter, that at least on the anniversary of the Paris climate agreement in 2015, countries failed to agree on a historic resolution.
"Today marks the 8th anniversary of the Paris Climate Agreement," the organization wrote in the evening. "As the window to achieve it closes, the global community at COP28 is failing to phase out fossil fuels and Germany is lagging behind in meeting its climate goals."
Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate wrote in a guest article in the Guardian: "As time runs out in Dubai, it feels like humanity's shared lifeboat is sinking." Progressive states are now called upon to fight.
The climate conference should actually have ended on Tuesday morning. However, UN meetings have always gone into extra time in recent years. A new draft text for the final declaration was expected in the morning.
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Source: www.stern.de
