A historic agreement to transition away from fossil fuels marked the dramatic conclusion of world climate negotiations at COP28 on Dec. 13.
The final Global Stocktake agreement to boost climate action by 2030 signaled the "beginning of the end" for fossil fuels, said Simon Stiell, U.N. climate change executive secretary, in a closing speech.
It was the first time that fossil fuel language was included in a climate agreement.
Stiell cautioned that "loopholes leave us vulnerable to fossil fuel vested interests, which could crash our ability to protect people everywhere against rising climate impacts."
The COP28 agreement recognizes that by 2030, global greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut 43% from 2019 levels, and it calls for tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency improvements by 2030. It also calls for phasing down the use of coal and fossil fuel subsidies among other measures to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels.
The nearly 200 countries and other parties signing the pact will now have to produce climate action plans and set nationally determined contribution levels by 2025. The next round of climate negotiations, COP29 to be hosted by Azerbaijan in November 2024, will call on governments to set climate finance goals, while COP30 in Brazil will expect countries to produce economywide emissions levels that cover all greenhouse gases and align with a limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius for the increase in global temperatures.
Mentioning fossil fuels was a milestone for COP negotiations, but vague language and potential loopholes could undermine the agreement whose success "will be determined by the actions that follow," said Mindy Lubber, CEO and president of Ceres, in an emailed statement.
"We, along with hundreds of institutional investors and companies, have called on countries to take the most ambitious actions possible to prevent the worst outcomes of climate crisis by moving away from fossil fuels, investing in abundant renewable energy and innovative solutions, and supporting a just transition to a clean, sustainable and inclusive economy," Lubber said.
"Governments, businesses and investors have a monumental opportunity to invest in secure, affordable and reliable clean-energy technology that brings enormous economic benefits and job growth," she said.
