As the deal goes through with stunning swiftness, Cop president Al Jaber has labelled it the “UAE consensus”, writes Fiona Harvey.
But is this a historic deal that will spell the eventual end of fossil fuels? Or will it be one more step on the road to hell?
In the world of climate talks, these two are not mutually exclusive. The text that was presented to delegates on Wednesday morning at Cop28 – and that was adopted a few minutes ago – enjoins countries for the first time to embark on a de facto phase out of fossil fuels. But it cannot require them to do so and it contains “a litany of loopholes”, according to the small island states that are most vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis, that will hamper the world from cutting greenhouse gas emissions drastically enough to limit global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
There are plenty of problems with this deal. Developing countries still need hundreds of billions more in finance, to help them make the transition away from coal, oil and gas. Developed countries and oil producers will not be forced to move as fast as climate science urges.
The US will get away lightly from this Cop, having pledged just over $20m in new finance for the poor world, and with its position as the world’s biggest oil and gas producer intact. China will continue to expand its coal production as well as renewable energy, and India’s coal industry will also have little to fear.
But this deal, imperfect as it is, faced colossal opposition from the world’s oil producing countries. Saudi Arabia tried to remove any reference to fossil fuels, then tried to insert references to carbon capture and storage, a technology it professes to love but strangely fails to invest in. Russia worked behind the scenes to scupper progress, and will do so far more next year when the Cop is held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The general feeling, as the final plenary of Cop28 kicks off just 24 hours after its scheduled finish, is that this deal does represent significant progress for the countries that want to tackle the climate crisis. The world must take this signal as the end of the fossil fuel era – now, before the gates of hell close behind us.
