Proposed COP28 climate deal calls for 'transitioning away from fossil fuels'
World
The draft is meant to reflect the consensus view of nearly 200 countries gathered at the conference
DUBAI (Reuters) – The COP28 Presidency released a proposed text of a final climate deal on Wednesday that would, for the first time, push nations to transition away from fossil fuels to avert the worst impacts of climate change.
The draft is meant to reflect the consensus view of nearly 200 countries gathered at the conference in Dubai, where scores of governments have insisted on strong language to signal an eventual end to the fossil fuel era - against protests from members of the oil producer group OPEC and its allies.
Country representatives have been called to what the COP28 Presidency hopes is a final meeting later Wednesday morning, where they could pass the deal and end two weeks of tough negotiations that have run a day into overtime.
Deals struck at UN climate summits must be passed by consensus, at which point individual countries are responsible for delivering on the agreements through national policies and investments.
The draft deal would specifically call for "transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner ... so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science."
If adopted, it would mark the first time in three decades of COP climate summits that nations agree on a concerted move away from oil, gas and coal - products that currently account for around 80% of global energy.
Scientists say fossil fuels are by far the largest source of the greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change.
