Global Milestone: COP28 Wraps Up With Landmark Climate Accord
After two weeks of intense deliberations in Dubai, a coalition of representatives from almost 200 countries finalized a landmark global climate agreement, pledging all participating nations to transition away from fossil fuel usage.
The agreement was reached late Wednesday evening, marking the conclusion of the 28th edition of the United Nations Climate Conference, known as COP28, the world’s largest multilateral climate policy event.
Hosted by the United Arab Emirates in Dubai, COP28 provided a significant opportunity for the country to showcase itself as a major diplomatic and economic leader on a global stage. Climate change experts and policymakers initially feared that hosting the conference in an oil-dominated state might render the entire process ineffective. However, the summit concluded with the first-ever unanimous commitment from all nations to eventually end the burning of oil, gas, and coal.
Negotiations had been deadlocked for much of the past week due to major disagreements surrounding the inclusion of language calling for a total “phaseout” of fossil fuels. European leaders and many smaller nations, vulnerable to climate change, such as those in the Pacific, strongly favored the proposed pledge, while large, rapidly industrializing developing economies like Saudi Arabia and India were fiercely against it.
In the end, a compromise deal was passed, calling for accelerating the reduction of fossil fuels in a “just, orderly, and equitable manner” this decade, with a commitment from all countries to end carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, claimed in a post-conference television interview that the final deal did not force countries to fully commit to a phaseout and, in effect, “left space for countries to choose their own way.” Salman also affirmed that Saudi oil exports would not be affected.
Saudi Arabia played a key role at the summit, advocating against restrictions on the fuels themselves, arguing that emissions should be the focus of the conference, preventing them through carbon capture technologies. Experts note that these technologies have seen limited effectiveness on a large scale.
In concluding the event, COP28 President Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber praised the deal, stating that “this historic consensus is only the beginning of the road.”
“Together, we have confronted realities and set the world in the right direction. We have given it a robust action plan to keep 1.5 within reach. It is a plan led by science, tackling emissions, bridging the gap on adaptation, reimagining global finance, and delivering on loss and damage. It is built on common ground, strengthened by inclusivity, and reinforced by collaboration,” Al Jaber said in his closing remarks.
Although the pact is not legally binding, many see it as a small but positive step in the right direction, given the dangers posed by climate change-induced rising sea levels, wildfires, extreme storms, and drought.
In her statement, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen remarked that 2023 was the hottest year on record, but “it is good news for the whole world that we now have a multilateral agreement to accelerate emission reductions towards net zero by 2050, with urgent action in this critical decade.”
Von der Leyen maintains, however, that “we stand ready to do more; we know that more must be done.”
