On Wednesday, an unprecedented climate agreement was reached, marking a historic shift towards reducing reliance on fossil fuels, a major factor in global warming.
This breakthrough was finalized in Dubai without debate or opposition, concluding two weeks of intense negotiations marked by increasing disagreements. This is the first global climate accord to directly address the need to decrease fossil fuel usage.
The agreement was quickly approved in a crowded venue. However, representatives of small island nations, who were not present at the time of the decision, expressed reservations about certain aspects of the agreement but chose not to challenge its overall validity.
The countries committed to a just, orderly, and equitable transition away from fossil fuels. This commitment is part of an accelerated effort in the current decade to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, in line with scientific recommendations.
“With an unprecedented reference to transitioning away from all fossil fuels, The UAE Consensus is delivering a paradigm shift that has the potential to redefine our economies,” the summit’s UAE presidency said on social media.
The UAE summit presidency added: “A global goal to triple renewables and double energy efficiency. Declarations on agriculture, food, and health. More oil and gas companies stepping up for the first time on methane and emissions. And we have language on fossil fuels in our final agreement.”
An updated proposal published by the UAE earlier on Wednesday, which was agreed on after all-night discussions, called for a “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science.”
The draft deal text also urged for “accelerating efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal power” and for “tripling renewable energy capacity globally and doubling the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030.”
