Teams of veteran negotiators fanned out Friday at the United Nations climate conference with orders to get the strongest, most ambitious agreements possible, especially on the central issue of the fading future of fossil fuels in a dangerously warming planet.
Quick Read
- Intensified Negotiations at COP28: Teams of experienced negotiators focus on achieving ambitious agreements on key issues at the U.N. climate conference.
- Fossil Fuels Phase-Out a Central Issue: New language proposes various options for rapidly phasing out fossil fuels, with environmental advocates cautiously optimistic.
- Global Leadership Push for Stronger Agreement: U.N. officials emphasize the urgency of achieving high-ambition outcomes to combat climate change.
- Challenges in Negotiations: Talks become more complex, especially regarding the potential phase-out of emission-heavy fossil fuels.
- Urgency Highlighted by Melting Ice Sheets: A report warns of irreversible ice sheet melting, underscoring the urgency to limit emissions.
- Optimistic COP28 President: Sultan al-Jaber expresses hope for a science-based paradigm shift at the summit.
- High-Level Special Teams Engaged: Teams from nearly 200 countries work to reach consensus, with some expressing optimism about reaching an agreement.
- Diverse Country Stances: EU, small island nations, and progressive Latin American countries favor fossil fuel phase-out, while developing nations and fossil fuel producers like Saudi Arabia show resistance.
- UAE’s Role in Negotiations: The UAE, as the conference host, attempts to bridge gaps, especially with close partner Saudi Arabia.
- Focus on Emissions Reduction: Norway and Germany stress the importance of substantial progress on emissions cuts and phasing out fossil fuels.
- EU’s Ambitious Emissions Target: The European Union aims for a 55% emissions cut by 2030, with aspirations to reach 57%.
- Sense of Urgency Among Negotiators: Extreme weather events and heat records drive a sense of urgency to act on climate change.
- Demand for Clarity in Agreements: Analysts seek more clarity in the new text, particularly regarding fossil fuel phase-out and adaptation plans.
- Negotiations Intensify: The talks are expected to become more intense, with negotiators prepared for round-the-clock discussions.
The Associated Press has the story:
COP28: Negotiations ramp up as summit enters 2nd and final week
Newslooks- DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)
Teams of veteran negotiators fanned out Friday at the United Nations climate conference with orders to get the strongest, most ambitious agreements possible, especially on the central issue of the fading future of fossil fuels in a dangerously warming planet.
The leadership of climate talks, called COP28, sent out four pairs of veteran and high-level ministers to push countries together on four key but stubborn issues as the summit went into its second week after a day of rest Thursday.
New proposed language on how to curb warming released Friday afternoon strengthened the options for a phase-out of fossil fuels that negotiators could choose from. Four of the five options call for some version of a rapid phase-out.
Environmental advocates grudgingly praised some of the proposed options throughout the expanded 27-page draft, but tempered their optimism by pointing out that nearly every option includes the possibility of not saying anything about the topics being negotiated, including phasing out fossil fuels.
“The text includes options explicitly calling for the phasing out of fossil fuels in line with the best available science. That’s clearly a positive step,” said Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa. “The text also includes important recognition of fairness in regards to developing countries.”
“The bare bones of a historic agreement is there,” he said. “What we now need is for countries to rally behind the stronger of the options and strengthen them further.”
Making a possible final document stronger was also a priority for top United Nations officials.
“It’s go-time for governments at COP28 this week,” U.N. Climate Chief Simon Stiell said at a press event. “If we want to save lives now and keep (the international goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius, 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, of warming since pre-industrial times) within reach, the highest ambition COP outcomes must stay front and center in these negotiations.”
Discussions after a first week of pageantry and official visits now become more difficult, particularly when it comes to language calling for the potential phase-out of emission-spewing fossil fuels.
Stiell underlined the challenge ahead if the world doesn’t limit emissions, describing ice shelves melting causing catastrophic flooding in coastal cities around the globe.
“If we pass these key thresholds, we can never go back from the planet’s perspective,” he said. A report released Wednesday on the sidelines of the summit warned that melting of ice sheets could reach the point of no return with more warming.
COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber said he was “quite positive, hopeful and optimistic” that the summit could bring a “paradigm shift centered around and based on the science.”
Members of the four pairs of high level special teams — who will work with negotiators from nearly 200 countries — said they too thought they’d be able to get the job done.
“I think there is some momentum. Having spoken to all parties’ groups of countries for months now there really is this sense of urgency,” Denmark’s Environment Minister Dan Jorgensen, told The Associated Press. “We need an agreement, so I am optimistic.”
EU countries, along with small island countries — oft-victimized by climate change — and some progressive Latin American countries are aligned on calling for a phase-out of fossil fuels, negotiators said.
Two groups of countries are likely to oppose, in some manner, a full and quick phase out of fossil fuels, said World Resources Institute CEO Ani Dasgupta. One is developing nations, like India and Indonesia, that think they need fossil fuels to power up their economies, but with financial and other aid, they can be pulled out of that position, he said.
The other group are fossil fuel producers. The United States is the biggest oil producer in the world and Special Envoy John Kerry earlier this week said the U.S. is committed to supporting strong phase-out language. But a big country looming against it is Saudi Arabia and they are close partners with the host country United Arab Emirates, that runs the conference, Dasgupta said.
The UAE has a lot to gain from a successful climate conference and “I think they will bring Saudi Arabia as close as possible,” Dasgupta said. When asked at a press conference about working with Saudi Arabia, al-Jaber avoided answering that part of the question.
The Arab group is a major blocker so far, a negotiator said. The official spoke anonymously as to not impact negotiations.
“I felt from the consultations that very many parties understand that we have to have a real progress on mitigation,” climate talk for emissions cuts, said Norway Foreign Minister Espen Barth-Eide. “That was not as true in Sharm el-Sheikh” in 2022 climate talks.
Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s foreign minister, said: “What we need to be successful here is to achieve the goal of phasing out fossil fuels … not emissions. It does make quite a substantial difference.”
European negotiators provided some extra hope. The EU goal is to cut emissions by 55% by 2030, but European Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said Friday that the European parliament hopes to do better than than and instead slice 57%.
Negotiators said there is a sense of urgency because of floods, droughts, storms and heat waves in a world that keeps setting heat records.
“We cannot negotiate with nature,” Jorgensen said. “The climate cannot compromise.”
As analysts and activists examined the new text they kept looking for more clarity, especially when it comes to fossil fuels and adaptation plans.
The frequent use of phase-out in the draft is good, “but it also has terms that would leave parties in an ambiguous position,” said Jamal Srouji of World Resources Institute. He worried that it would not tell people clearly “who needs to do what when.”
“We have never been closer to an agreement on a fossil fuel phase-out,” said Oil Change International’s Romain Ioualalen.
Negotiations will only get more intense from here.
Asked when talks would start to go around the clock, Danish negotiator Jorgensen looked at his watch and said “now.”
