A new draft agreement that further expands the possibilities on fossil fuels was published at COP28 on Friday, in an attempt to find the right formula that can win the support of countries with contradictory aspirations. This third version of the text, which serves as the basis for debate with a view to its adoption at the end of the COP on Tuesday, includes in 27 pages and 206 articles the different options proposed by the different countries, with new and original formulations.
Regarding fossil fuels, at the center of the debates, five options are now proposed, including “not having any text” – nothing on the subject – or even “an exit from fossil fuels in accordance with the best available scientific knowledge” . Two other formulations for phasing out fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) more specifically emphasize the role of emissions capture technologies.
Is the fate of fossil fuels linked to that of renewable energies?
But the fate of fossil fuels is also indirectly mentioned in other passages of the text, in particular in the one that calls for tripling the capacity of renewable energy in the world between now and 2030. This also opens the way to a final formulation that could link the destiny of the two types of energies. This development of renewable energies could thus be implemented in a way that “displaces” or replaces energy based on fossil fuels, according to one of the proposed options.
A phraseology reminiscent of a November joint statement between China and the United States, the two largest emitters in the world. The two powers committed to “sufficiently accelerate the deployment of renewable energies (…) to accelerate the substitution of electricity production from coal, oil and gas.” But, let us remember that nothing has been decided and that some countries do not want to see formulas that are too specific in terms of energy, one option is also “not having any text” on renewable energies.
Source: BFM TV
