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A demonstrator protests against the use of fossil fuels during an event at the Cop28 UN Climate Summit, December 11, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
GOVERNMENTS moved closer to a watered-down final deal today, avoiding calls from more than 100 nations to phase out planet-warming fossil fuels, as the United Nations Cop28 climate talks in Dubai neared their culmination.
A new draft issued this afternoon on the global stocktake — the summit’s assessment of where the world is with its climate goals and how it can reach them — called for countries to reduce “consumption and production of fossil fuels, in a just, orderly and equitable manner.”
Its publication sparked a frenzy of fine-tuning by government envoys and sharp analysis by advocacy groups just hours before today’s planned late-morning finish to the talks — though many observers expect business to run over time, as is common at the annual summit.
As fossil fuels have had their day, JOSIE MIZEN makes it clear that it is now the government’s responsibility to initiate the transition to alternative employment in a manner that is organised, efficient and effective
