World Climate Conference in Dubai decides on the beginning of the end of fossil energy production

Conference President Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber announced the joint resolution in the conference plenary to the applause of the delegates - the first resolution of a UN climate conference that concerns the future of all fossil fuels, including oil and gas in addition to coal.

Countries such as those of the EU were thus 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.

"We have the basis for transformative change," said al-Jaber, after none of the almost 200 countries raised objections to the central text of the resolution. The plenary session took place one day late. After a second night of negotiations, the COP President presented the revised central resolution text on Wednesday morning.

The German government nevertheless welcomed the compromise. The agreement shows "that we are walking the path of climate justice together", said Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) in plenary. Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) also declared: "The path to a climate-just future has finally been paved."

Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) spoke of a "good compromise on which we will build". Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) said that the conference sent out a "signal of unity" that "the world urgently needed in these difficult times".

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also saw the decision as the "beginning of the post-fossil age". US climate envoy John Kerry told the conference plenary that in times of war in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, "multilateralism" had set a course for the "common good".

The island states, which are particularly threatened by climate change, reacted with concern. Samoa's chief negotiator Anne Rasmussen said on behalf of the small islands that "incremental progress" had been achieved, but that an "exponential step towards change" was needed.

John Silk, the negotiator for the Marshall Islands, even compared the agreement to a "canoe with a weak and leaky hull, full of holes". Nevertheless, it had to be put into the water "because we have no other option".

The Saudi Arabian delegation, on the other hand, expressed "gratitude" for the compromise on behalf of the Arab group. There was "no agreement on an immediate or gradual end to fossil fuels, but on a transition process".

Brazil and China stated that the industrialized countries must now lead the way in the energy transition. The delegation from Russia, one of the most important producers of natural gas, oil and coal, praised the "compromise", but warned against a "chaotic" exit from the use of fossil fuels.

The Dubai conference resolution calls for a tripling of global renewable energy capacity by 2030 and a doubling of energy efficiency in the same period. However, it also contains references to "transitional energies" such as natural gas and the controversial technologies for capturing and storing CO2, which environmental organizations criticize as a back door to delaying the energy transition.

On the day COP28 concluded, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) stated in its monthly report that global demand for crude oil is expected to reach a record 104.36 million barrels per day in the coming year. Opec based its assumption on the assumption of "robust global economic growth" and an improvement in the economy, particularly in China.

UN Climate Change Secretary Simon Stiell called on the global community to implement the Dubai decision now. "The age of fossil fuels must end", UN Secretary-General António Guterres also warned.

Environmental and development organizations combined praise with calls for more stringent measures. The agreement in Dubai "marks the beginning of the end of the oil, gas and coal industry after 30 years of climate activism - no more, but also no less", explained Greenpeace board member Martin Kaiser. However, it "could and should have been more binding and without loopholes".

"We are finally naming the elephant in the room," explained Mohamed Adow from the think tank Power Shift Africa with regard to fossil fuels, which have not been explicitly named in COP resolutions to date. "This genie is never going back in the bottle."