Oil-producing countries are successfully attempting to eliminate the language that calls in an international climate agreement for the phasing out of fossil fuels. Initial drafts of the agreement included text urging participating countries in the Paris Agreement to work towards a “just and orderly phase-out of fossil fuels.” Current reports indicate that this language has disappeared from the latest version of the draft.
COP28 Conference: What Is It and What Is Being Discussed?
The agreement is being negotiated at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28, held in the United Arab Emirates. COP meetings, or the Conference of the Parties, are annual events aimed at bringing United Nations members together to discuss ways to tackle climate change. They have been central to the negotiations that led to the Paris Agreement, which urges participants to develop plans that bring the world to net-zero emissions by mid-century.
Challenges in Negotiations and the Loss of Option One
The language of the statement needs to be agreed upon by all parties and is inevitably contentious. This year’s statement has been particularly difficult, as initial drafts (such as this one) included the ability to call on parties to stop using fossil fuels, alongside a separate vague alternative:
Option 1: Just and orderly phase-out of fossil fuels;
Option 2: Accelerate efforts towards a non-resistant phase-out of fossil fuels and rapidly reduce its use to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide in energy systems by mid-century or thereabouts;
Option 3: No text.
Impact on Oil-Producing Countries and Other Positive Moves
The loss of option 1 from the latest drafts is a sign of success for oil-producing countries. This, in turn, indicates that they have no intention of slowing production even as the signs of ongoing warming and its impacts grow. It will also provide cover for many other countries that may be looking for excuses to move.
However, the draft itself includes several measures that contain no alternative language and urge countries to take significant actions, including: tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030, doubling the annual rate of improvement in energy efficiency, halting the issuance of licenses for coal plants that do not include carbon capture and rapidly phasing out any existing plants of this kind, gradually replacing vehicles with zero-emission ones, and eliminating fossil fuel subsidies.
The negotiations are still ongoing, and with nearly a week left on the current draft, they may indicate the possibility of achieving some positive outcomes while everyone is preoccupied with the debate over phasing out fossil fuels.
About the Author
John Timmer is the science editor at Ars Technica. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology from the University of California, Berkeley. When not at the keyboard, he tends to look for a bicycle or a scenic spot to hike.
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