Reactions to the results of the World Climate Conference in Dubai divided
The results of the World Climate Conference in Dubai have met with a mixed response from experts and environmental organizations. "The COP28 climate conference was pure greenwashing," said energy expert Claudia Kemfert from the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) on Wednesday. "It is not a 'historic package', as the conference president claims - neither in a positive nor in a negative sense."
Turning away from fossil fuels instead of phasing them out is apparently the maximum achievable minimum consensus of the global community of states. Too many loopholes and back doors would be left open so that fossil fuels could continue to be used. Only a commitment to an immediate phase-out of fossil fuels could have led to the climate targets being achieved. "With this agreement, the 1.5 degree target will hardly be achievable," said Kemfert with regard to the goal of limiting global warming.
The World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) is more positive. "The time for pouring oil on the fire indefinitely is over," said Viviane Raddatz, Head of Climate at WWF Germany. At the climate conference, it was also possible to persuade the oil and gas states to commit to moving away from fossil fuels. "This is the first time that the core problem of the climate crisis has been named, after decades of dancing around it on the international stage," said Raddatz. "This is an immensely important signal - also against the development of new oil and gas sources."
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The diverse reactions to the outcomes of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai echoed throughout the global climate community. While some, like energy expert Claudia Kemfert, criticized it as greenwashing, others, such as Viviane Raddatz from WWF Germany, viewed it as a significant step towards acknowledging and addressing the crisis by committing to move away from fossil fuels.
Despite the positive spin placed on the results by the conference president, many experts believe that the agreement reached in Dubai falls short of the necessary measures needed to meet the 1.5-degree target for global warming, with Kemfert being one of them.
Source: www.ntv.de
