UN Climate Talks in Last Effort To End Fossil Fuels; World Leaders Negotiate on Proposed Phase Out of Crude Oil

From November 30 to December 12, the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC will convene in Dubai, UAE. Also known as COP28, the event brings together world leaders to discuss global transformative climate action.

COP28 Highlights

UN Climate Change conferences are annual events serving as the only multilateral decision-making forum in the world focusing on climate change. In this conference, world leaders come together to agree on addressing the climate crisis with proposed solutions such as achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, helping vulnerable communities adapt to the impacts of climate change, and limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

COP28 is also an opportunity to assess the progress of the Paris Agreement, a landmark climate treaty adopted in 2015, and chart a course of action to reduce emissions and protect lives. Aside from preserving the available climate, the event also aims to discuss financing for adaptation and investments in climate resilience.

Deciding the Fate of Fossil Fuels

The conference highlights the call to end the use of coal, gas, and oil, considered the main culprits in the current climate crisis. Before a deadline for a deal at the climate summit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres encouraged maximum ambition and maximum flexibility to reach an agreement among 200 nations.

A draft agreement from the COP28 climate summit has dropped references to the phaseout of petroleum. This agreement sets out a range of actions nations can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. Only the phasedown of unabated coal was previously referenced, but if agreed, the text would mark the first plan set out by a COP summit to shift away from all fossil fuels.

However, oil producers resist the historic calls to phase out fossil fuels. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, has led the resistance, with the OPEC cartel convincing its members to vote against the proposed phaseout.

The draft text also faces fierce opposition from EU countries and small island states. According to EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, the draft was insufficient since nations cannot drive down fossil fuels immediately. Due to some disagreements, the talks have led to a dispute over the financing for the transition to a greener economy and the future of fossil fuels.

UN climate body head Simon Stiell called on both sides to remove unnecessary tactical blockades that hold up a deal. Guterres also encourages the negotiators to focus on addressing fossil fuel production and consumption as the root cause of the climate crisis. He also offered flexibility and clarified that the call for action does not mean that all countries must phase out fossil fuels simultaneously.

According to Stiell, any agreement must preserve the goal to maintain global temperatures at no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. This goal is the proposed solution to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, such as droughts, worsening storms, and rising sea levels.