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COP28: Deal Made to Move Away from Fossil Fuels12-15-23 | News

COP28: Deal Made to Move Away from Fossil Fuels

Ramp Up Renewable Energy
by Staff

COP28 concluded with verbiage about fossil fuels.

The 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP28, met in Dubai to discuss climate plans from November 30th through December 12th, where a landmark agreement to "transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems" was made.

COP28 was made up of nearly 200 countries that initially had been split about their viewpoint on fossil fuels. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia, and China oppose the move away from fossil fuels. Yet, more than 100 nations were pleading for a phase-out of fossil fuels. On the other hand, others were calling to phase out or eliminate fossil fuels while, some preferred to say, "reduce the use of planet-heating fuels" which ended up being the final agreement. While this small verbiage change was heavily challenged and fought for, critics were unclear on what the revision really means in terms of actual action.

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Meanwhile, member states were clear about their actionable next move. They said that they will triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 to double efficiency. The International Energy Agency (IEA) agrees and says, "that it is vital to secure a safe climate."

The COP28 President, Sultan al-Jaber hailed this environmental move as a "historic package" that offers a "robust plan" to keep the target cap global temperatures at 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

"We have language on fossil fuel in our final agreement for the first time ever," said al-Jaber. The conference in the UAE, as one of the world's largest oil producers, faced criticism about the negotiations and this stance because of their close ties to the industry. For example, al-Jaber is an oil executive and was appointed over the conference.

In recent memory, industrialized nations, like the United States, have passed legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act to make moves towards clean energy by including billions in subsidies. As the cost to construct electric vehicles dips and the support for renewable energy increases, the United Nations crafting agreements on a global scale to act is an important next step.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) was in attendance for their nature based design expertise.

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