After almost two weeks of intense negotiations, that’s a wrap on COP28.
Taking place in Dubai, UAE, from Nov. 30 and going into overtime on Dec. 13, a lot was riding on the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference, also known as COP28.
The climate crisis has been hard at work throughout 2023 with UN Secretary General, António Guterres warning in September that: “Humanity has opened the gates of hell.” Wildfires in Argentina and Canada.
Flooding in India, Cameroon, and Libya. Extreme heat across the US, Europe, and Asia. A cyclone in Myanmar. A tropical storm hitting Japan, Guam, the Philippines, and Taiwan. The list goes on. This year’s COP was a significant milestone: the first assessment of how countries are faring against emissions-cutting commitments made at Paris in 2015 (known as the Paris agreement). This process is known as the “global stocktake.
”But what actually happened? Here’s what you really need to know about the good, the bad, and the greenwash of COP28.
1. COP28 Agreed a Landmark Deal to ‘Transition Away’ From Fossil Fuels After 30 years of waiting, COP28 finally dealt with the elephant in the room: fossil fuels. More than 190 nations accepted a text on Wednesday morning that calls on the world to “transition away” from fossil fuels. This might not sound like a huge milestone, but it’s the first time ever that a COP text has been so forthright about the need to end fossil fuels. Yet, “transition away” is not quite the “phase-out” wording that 137 nations including Canada, Chile, Norway, and Tuvalu among others had been pushing for.Indeed, activists and campaigners remain skeptical.
Responding to the announcement, May Boeve, executive director at 350.org said: “It is frustrating that 30 years of campaigning managed to get ‘transition from fossil fuels’ in the COP28 text, but it is surrounded by so many loopholes that it has been rendered weak and ineffectual.”Omar Elmawi, from Africa Movement Building Space, was even more damning: “Proposing a transition away from fossil fuels may sound like a step in the right direction, a glimmer of hope amidst chaos.
However, let us not underestimate the cunning tactics of fossil fuel giants and petrostates.
They will cleverly disguise their products as ‘transitional’ fuels, especially in the most vulnerable corners of our world. Yet, we must recognize how far we have come. Even the once unyielding fossil fuel giants and petrostates are now witnessing the inevitable – a world that’s free of their toxic grip.”