The COP28 president is finalizing a new draft Global Balance Sheet based on the red lines presented by the parties last night, according to the summit’s director general, who did not provide details on the fossil fuel issue.
“We spoke and received feedback last night and this has enabled us to draft a new text that includes all the elements we need for a comprehensive plan until 2030,” said Ambassador Majid Al Suwaidi and Director General of the 28th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP28).
At a press conference on the latest negotiations, which were due to end today, the official said work on the new text is underway based on the lines presented by the countries last night, after seeing the draft published in the late afternoon .
“The text we released was a starting point for the discussion. It is completely normal for a process based on consensus. We knew opinions were polarized, but we didn’t know what the red lines of the countries were,” he added.
Regarding the new wording, Majid Al Suwaidi said that “everything is there” in terms of mitigation, adaptation, forms of implementation and ‘loss and damage’, but did not provide details on the issue of fossil fuels, the least consensus among the parties . .
The proposed final text of the ‘World Balance’ of the eight years of the Paris Agreement, presented on Monday by the President of COP28, Sultan Al Jaber, no longer mentions the end of fossil fuels, which earned the opposition of several countries , including the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
“We’re trying to agree on a plan to fill in the gaps between where the world is and where it needs to be to keep 1.5ºC within reach. That’s been our north star and part of that is incorporating fossil fuels in the text,” said the general manager.
“If we succeed, it would be historic,” he added, noting, however, that it is a consensus process and that above all it is necessary to find a balance between countries.
During the negotiations, which have been taking place in Dubai for almost two weeks, several formulation options were on the table that referred to the gradual reduction and elimination of fossil fuels or, conversely, the end of the so-called ‘unreduced’, that is to say: that in which carbon capture is not possible .
“We have known for a long time that the language surrounding fossil fuels is complicated and that it is important to have the right language. It is important to understand how we can achieve that balance,” Majid Al Suwaidi said, pointing out the need for a formulation “that does not cause blockages” .
Scientists ask John Kerry to try to save the summit
Last Tuesday, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) asked US Special Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, to try to get COP28 to reverse its decision not to include the end of fossil fuels. the text of the Global Assessment.
At a press conference at the Dubai Climate Summit (COP28), Rachel Cleetus, policy director of the UCS Climate and Energy Program – a non-profit organization – called on Kerry to achieve what scientists and environmentalists are seeking: the end of fossil fuels included in the document.
“We all agree that the text is s…” said Cleetus, who added that in his view this is the document that the fossil fuel industry and oil producing states wanted.
“We didn’t come for this,” he said, before calling for the “isolation of Saudi Arabia,” one of the world’s top oil producers.
So far, Saudi Arabia has not responded to the latest draft, published on Monday, of the global assessment, the first review process of what has been achieved since the Paris Agreement (2015) and in which the parties should agree on the next steps. to ensure the climate security of the planet.
“We hope to work with the other parties to ensure a solid outcome at this COP,” said the US envoy, close to Sultan Al Jaber, chairman of the conference taking place in Dubai and officially ending today.
Representatives of environmental organizations also took part in the press conference and assured, visibly moved, that the fault lies not only with Saudi Arabia, but also with other countries that are expanding their fossil fuel projects, such as the United States, Canada or Norway.
One of the main objectives of COP28 is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, mainly produced by fossil fuels, and prevent temperatures from rising above 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times.
During the negotiations, which have been taking place in Dubai for almost two weeks, there was an option for the text of the Global Assessment of the eight-year Paris Agreement, which was in line with the end of oil, gas and coal, but on Monday Al Jaber proposed a draft agreement that would leave room for countries to choose their way to ‘reduce’ fossil energy.
The 21-page text does not set any common goal of “exit” from oil, gas and coal as contained in previous versions, which would be a historic decision if approved by consensus by the 194 states, plus the European Union, which ratified the Paris Agreement.
Fossil energy is responsible for two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions, which drive global warming and associated catastrophes such as droughts, heat waves and floods.
Source: DN
