The COP28 world climate conference in Dubai is coming to an end, new drafts of the final text are expected on Monday. In the final sprint, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on states to join forces and made an appeal: “Stick to the 1.5 degree limit. End the Fossil Age!”
“Now is the time for maximum ambition and maximum flexibility,” Guterres said in Dubai. “Ministers and negotiators must move beyond arbitrary red lines, deadlocked positions and impasses.”
Agreement on the final text is still uncertain
However, it is uncertain whether an agreement and a final text will be reached when the conference officially closes on Tuesday as planned. The president of the World Climate Conference, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, hoped for a “historic” agreement, but over the past 28 years, UN climate conferences have rarely ended on time. “Everyone has to be flexible,” Al Jaber said. “We must act much, much, much faster,” he demanded. “Failure is not an option.”
Heated debates about phasing out coal, oil and gas
There is currently a heated discussion at the UN conference about phasing out coal, oil and gas. Guterres spoke in favor of an ambitious formulation in the final text: “A central building block for the success of the conference is a consensus that there must be an exit from fossil fuels – in line with the goal of reducing global warming up to 1.5 degrees. limit.”
That does not mean that all states must act at the same speed, the UN Secretary General said, highlighting another major point of contention between states. The important goal is to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
“We are on the brink of a climate catastrophe”
“We are on the brink of a climate catastrophe and this conference must be a turning point,” Guterres said the night before. He returned to Dubai to make an urgent appeal to the country’s leaders. “Stick to the limit of 1.5 degrees. End the Fossil Age.”
UN climate chief Simon Stiell also called on the nearly 200 countries to be more willing to compromise and be more ambitious in the fight against global warming. On Monday morning, he appealed to the negotiating teams to reject a policy of small steps in the struggle for a final text. “Every step away from the highest aspirations costs countless millions of lives – not in the next political or economic cycle that future heads of state and government will face, but now, in every country.”
In the most recent draft resolution, published on Friday evening, there were several conflicting options. The text mentions four different ways to phase out fossil fuels. But it also includes a fifth variant, which does not even mention the shift from oil, coal and gas.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
