Will COP28 finally ditch fossil fuels? Doesn't look like it

The language on phasing out or phasing down of planet-warming fossil fuels the global community ends up using is likely to be among the most contentious issues at the upcoming UN climate summit in Dubai, something that no party wishes to address.

- Jayashree Nandi

With the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the two-week summit set to begin on November 30, the United Arab Emirates, which holds the presidency this year, is facing allegations of using the climate talks as an opportunity to strike oil and gas deals.

The COP28 team of the UAE had plans to discuss fossil fuel deals with 15 nations, the Centre for Climate Reporting and BBC reported on Sunday, based on briefing documents seen by them.

“The documents referred to in the BBC article are inaccurate and were not used by COP28 in meetings,” a COP28 spokesperson said on Tuesday. “It is extremely disappointing to see the BBC use unverified documents in their reporting.”

'Complicated issue'

Even so, any language on fossil fuels is a sensitive issue at COP28 and UN reports have indicated that top emitters globally are heavily invested in oil and gas. The challenge of getting top emitters on board was also revealed by COP28 director-general Majid Al Suwaidi, who said fossil fuels are a “complicated” issue for all parties, referring to the participating nations.

“We know that this is a complicated issue for all parties. We have said from the beginning that this is a party driven process, our job is to get parties together to discuss and find consensus and we will see how that is addressed. It’s not our job to see what the COP should or shouldn’t be,” Suwaidi said on November 17. “What’s also important to think about is how we are addressing the issue of keeping global temperature rise under 1.5 degrees Celsius and the 22 GT (giga tonnes) emission-reductions needed, how do we get to where we want to be in a practical, realistic, honest and equitable way.”