There has been no global consensus to phase out fossil fuels as Dubai’s COP28 climate alarmism meeting enters its last planned day. Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion are central to the argument.
Sultan al-Jaber, who is deeply divided as president of COP28, is also chief executive officer of the Abu Dhabi oil company Adnoc. The draft climate accord issued by the host country of this year’s conference, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), omitted a provision demanding an immediate reduction in the use of fossil fuels. The proposal instead urged all countries to “just, orderly, and equitablely” decrease “consumption and output of fossil fuels.”
Those concerned about global warming said the deal was “weak” since it wouldn’t cut carbon dioxide emissions enough. Even before COP28 began, many were dissatisfied that the event would be held in a fossil fuel powerhouse and that Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, head of the UAE national oil corporation, would be presiding over it. From the very beginning of the summit, Al Jaber has been a vocal opponent of the planned phase-out of fossil fuels.
According to the EU official who spoke with the BBC, the proposed deal would be “unacceptable” if fossil fuels were not phased out. According to a spokesman from the Alliance of Small Island States, signing an agreement without “clear pledges on phasing out fossil fuels” would be like signing a “death certificate” for islands.
The UK said the deal “did not go far enough,” a Biden administration official warned that it “needed to be considerably enhanced.”
The COP28 delegates believed the summit would need to go into “overtime” to achieve a more stringent accord. According to Majid Al Suwaidi, the Emirati director of the COP28 meeting, the contentious document presented on Monday was meant to provoke conversation.
Developed countries are not likely to be in favor of an agreement that would force them to endure rolling blackouts and eliminate personal mobility while allowing Third World countries to consume unlimited amounts of coal and oil. The public has not been given an accurate picture of the extent of the sacrifices needed to achieve the 1.5C temperature target by climate campaigners and wealthy politicians who fly private aircraft into conferences like COP28.
