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The United Nations climate talks in Dubai closed this week with an agreement that is either a sign of hope or more of the same, depending on your perspective.
Representatives of Big Oil and oil-producing nations were out in force for the event, known as COP28. It was chaired by Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, head of Abu Dhabi's state-owned oil company (United Nations photo, at left). But against those odds, delegates from nearly 200 countries and territories ended up agreeing to a compromise final statement that calls for a transition away from fossil fuels.
The annual Conference of the Parties has never before been able to agree on a joint statement that says fossil fuels need to go away.
If you were hoping for more, you're probably disappointed. But if you're willing to accept signs of progress, it was an important outcome.
But "transition away" sounds noncommittal compared with the stronger "phase out," which is what climate scientists say we need to do. That still leaves world leaders (and national and local leaders) where they started: Puzzling how to end the burning of fossil fuels that cause the heat-trapping pollution that is warming the planet.
"Science tells us that limiting global heating to 1.5 degrees (Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) will be impossible without the phase out of all fossil fuels on a timeframe consistent with this limit. This has been recognized by a growing and diverse coalition of countries," U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said as the conference ended.
"To those who opposed a clear reference to a phase-out of fossil fuels in the COP28 text, I want to say that a fossil fuel phase out is inevitable whether they like it or not. Let’s hope it doesn’t come too late," Guterres said.
Even Sultan al-Jaber said as the meetings ended that COP28 was historic.
"We have delivered a paradigm shift that has the potential to redefine our economies," he said. But he warned: "An agreement is only as good as its implementation. We are what we do, not what we say."
This is a global challenge and a local one. Charlotte is five years into the Strategic Energy Action Plan, which aims to end the use of fossil fuels in city vehicles and buildings by 2030. It also calls for reducing carbon emissions citywide almost six-fold, from the current 11.7 tons per person annually to just 2 tons per person. As I wrote this week, the city isn't likely to hit those targets. But it is inching toward those goals project-by-project. (See WFAE's coverage of the SEAP.)
Missing the goal doesn't mean doom. But it could mean greater hardships as we deal with rising temperatures, more intense storms, sea level rise, and droughts and wildfires. And those hardships will disproportionately affect people here and around the globe who are least able to cope — the old, the young, the poor. That's why we need to keep up our efforts to cut emissions and adapt.
"There's always more that can be done. And absolutely know that we need to keep pushing forward," Sarah Hazel, Charlotte's chief sustainability and resiliency officer told me.
