COP28 goes to overtime as division over fossil fuels delays agreement
Dec 13, 2023
Dubai [UAE], December 13: The global climate summit was in overtime on Tuesday with no deal on the meeting's final agreement, and countries were bitterly divided over whether to call time on fossil fuels. Negotiators were scrambling last-ditch meetings to salvage more ambitious language to address the cause of the climate crisis.
The latest draft of the COP28 summit's centerpiece agreement published on Monday dropped previous references to phasing out fossil fuels, stoking anger and frustration among some nations and advocates. More than 100 countries support a phase-out of fossil fuels in some form.
Instead, the watered-down draft offers a list of actions that countries "could" take to reduce their planet-heating emissions, one of which is reducing the consumption and production of oil, coal and gas.
An ambitious deadline set by COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber to strike a deal on a package of agreements expired earlier on Tuesday.
Source: Qatar Tribune