Climate conference in Dubai - "The beginning of the end": reactions to the COP28 final declaration
The World Climate Conference in Dubai (COP28) has decided to "transition" away from fossil fuels. This is the first resolution at a UN climate conference that concerns the future of all fossil fuels. However, countries such as the EU were unable to push through their demand to anchor a global phase-out of all fossil fuels with the word "phase-out" in the face of fierce resistance from oil states such as Saudi Arabia.
Countries such as the USA and Germany welcomed the compromise, while the United Nations and the small island states called for more far-reaching steps.
An overview of the reactions:
COP28 Presidency:
"We have the basis for transformative change," said Emirati COP President Sultan Ahmed al Jaber. He spoke of a "historic achievement".
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock:
"This text is just a start for us as the European Union, as Germany." Germany and the EU had not only decided to phase out fossil fuels, but also to support the world's most vulnerable countries. "We have decided that we can only save the future of our children together."
European Union:
The "historic" agreement marks the beginning of the "post-fossil era", explained EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The world had confirmed the EU's goals of tripling renewable energies and doubling energy efficiency by 2030.
French President Emmanuel Macron:
The decision of the World Climate Conference is an important step, committing the world to a fossil-free transition by tripling renewables and recognizing the key role of nuclear power, Macron wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "This is a first and a step forward in respecting the Paris Agreement." Macron called out: "Let's accelerate!"
Environmental organizations:
German environmentalists are largely positive about the COP28 resolutions - but criticize a number of loopholes. The UN meeting marks the beginning of the end of the oil, gas and coal industry - "no more, no less", said Martin Kaiser from Greenpeace. Viviane Raddatz from WWF said: "The time for pouring unlimited oil on the fire is over." For the first time, the core problem of the climate crisis is being named at a UN climate conference. Oxfam expert Jan Kowalzig called the resolutions a good basis, which must now of course also be reflected in concrete policy. The rich countries should take action much faster and more comprehensively than the low-income countries - which, as a rule, have hardly contributed to the climate crisis.
Fridays for Future:
Spokesperson Luisa Neubauer said the climate movement had fought hard for this global shift away from fossil fuels. In view of the resistance of the fossil fuel lobby, this was a big step. Nevertheless, the climate conference had shown "that the profits of oil companies are still being protected more successfully than the most affected regions of the world."
China:
Beijing assigned the industrialized nations an "undeniable historical responsibility for climate change". Chinese Vice Environment Minister Zhao Yingmin stated that these countries "must therefore take the lead and embark on the 1.5-degree Celsius path ahead of the rest of the world".
USA:
US climate envoy John Kerry praised the agreement as a hopeful sign. In times of war in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, "multilateralism" has set a course for the "common good", said Kerry.
German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK):
The agreement at the World Climate Conference in Dubai is a positive signal for German companies, he said. International climate protection should gain further momentum as a result, explained DIHK President Peter Adrian. In particular, the commitment to accelerate the expansion of renewable energies and increase energy efficiency could open up new opportunities for German technology providers worldwide.
Andreas Jung, CDU Vice Chairman:
"The German government campaigned for more commitment in Dubai, it must not now undermine this at home: The plans to gut the Climate Protection Act must now be taken off the table," said Jung, who is also the energy and climate protection policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag.
Michael Bloss, Green MEP in the EU Parliament:
"For the first time since the beginning of the UN climate conferences, the end of fossil fuels is being carefully heralded. Due to the massive influence of lobbyists and the representation of vested interests of the oil states, it is not the clear commitment to the end of coal, oil and gas in all sectors that the world so urgently needs to keep 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach. But it is a start." This refers to the goal agreed in Paris in 2015 of limiting global warming to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial age.
Federal Environment Agency President Dirk Messner:
Messner supports the UN Climate Change Conference's call to move away from fossil fuels. "The international community is finally recognizing what science has been calling for for a long time," he said. The fossil age must come to an end in order to prevent dangerous climate change, secure prosperity and maintain future prospects for future generations.
EU Climate Action Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra:
It is a day to rejoice that "humanity has finally done what was long, long overdue", said the European Union's chief negotiator at the plenary session in Dubai. It had taken 30 years to usher in "the beginning of the end of fossil fuels". The conclusion of the climate conference was a day of gratitude and satisfaction. "Because when we are all long gone, our children and their children will have to live with what we have left behind, the good and the bad."
Representative of the Pacific island states:
"We cannot return to our islands with the message that this process has betrayed us," said Anne Rasmussen, Samoa's representative. "The course correction we needed has not been achieved." The island states, which are particularly threatened by rising sea levels, feel ignored by the decision of the World Climate Conference. Rasmussen said that the group of island states had yet to coordinate and had not been in the room in time to take a stand. Shortly before, the conference president of the United Arab Emirates had adopted the published draft text surprisingly quickly with a hammer blow right at the beginning of the plenary session.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell:
A decision in the right direction, but not quite enough: "Even if we haven't ended the age of fossil fuels in Dubai, this result is the beginning of the end." The planet is currently heading towards a warming of almost three degrees compared to pre-industrial times. "This still means great human suffering, which is why COP28 should have gone one step further."
Arab countries:
The Group of Arab States called the agreement a "great success". The head of the Saudi Arabian delegation, Albara Tawfik, speaking on behalf of the group, expressed "gratitude" and referred to the mention of technologies for the capture and storage of climate-damaging carbon dioxide in the text of the agreement.
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Source: www.stern.de
