U.N. Executive Secretary Simon Stiell urged countries to remove obstacles in the COP28 negotiations or “risk ruining the outcome for everyone.”
As COP28 in Dubai reaches its final critical hours, António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, said Monday that it is time to “negotiate with grace.”
OPEC members are against including the phase-out of fossil fuels in the agreement expected to be announced at the end of COP28.
Climate activists at COP28 are calling for a phasing out of fossil fuels such as LNG and for them to be replaced them with renewable sources such as wind and solar energy.
In a letter to COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber, they called for an “orderly phase out of all fossil fuels in a just & equitable way, in line with a 1.5C trajectory.”
A text is on the table for Global Stocktake negotiators at COP28 to finalize, but so far, it looks dreamy and scattered.
Spain joined the alliance against gas and oil that it rejected two years ago. Kenya and Samoa also joined, it was announced at COP28.
COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber said he respects science, following his earlier comments that there was “no science” behind calls for the end of fossil fuels to limit temperature rises to 1.5C.
Fifty countries including the UAE and Saudi Arabia signed an official charter that stipulates reducing carbon and methane emissions.
Negotiators have begun to address one of the most important tasks of COP28, the global stocktake assessment process.