13 December 2023 - Today representatives from nearly 200 countries have agreed at COP28 to a landmark deal to start “transitioning” away from fossil fuels.
More than 100 countries had called for the deal to agree “phase out” oil, gas and coal use. Instead the summit agreed to “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly and equitable manner.”
Read responses to this agreement from the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability (CISL):
“This agreement marks a watershed move. Nearly 200 countries at the world’s biggest multilateral process finally have named the problem and set out the need to move away from fossil fuels for the first time. Clearly the final text could and should have been much stronger – the visible and strong reaction from some of the most vulnerable countries after the agreement was struck set out many flaws and limitations in what was agreed, from the perspective of those most affected by climate change. This agreement must be the floor, not the ceiling for climate ambition.
“The negotiations were clearly difficult and contentious, but benefitted from a broad and large coalition of ambitious countries, both developed and developing, who all supported an urgent phase out of fossil fuels. Also, in the run up to and throughout this summit we have seen repeated communications from leading businesses globally and in the UK and EU, who have shown strong business support for a clear plan to phase out of fossil fuels. If countries and businesses match their actions to this growing consensus the momentum away from fossil fuels will be increasingly visible and become globally significant, shaping our energy future.”
“COP28 has also seen a wide range of other commitments, pledges and progress. The UN climate summits need to deliver progress on a range of actions on climate change – from adaptation to nature protection, from renewable energy to energy efficiency, from finance to accountability. The negotiations continue to deliver progress and action, which is limited and slow compared to the scale of what is needed but which represents probably the most active and inclusive global process in the world.” - Eliot Whittington, Executive Director, CISL
“Reflecting the vital importance of this process to our continued existence a hundred thousand people had come to COP28. The first week has delivered a flurry of surprises and record funding pledges. Loss and damage fund was agreed and over USD700mn of funds have been pledged to it. Big strides have been made in enabling the flow of private finance towards the transition, including the recognition of the role of private finance in the process. The climate finance declaration included the agreement on climate resilient debt clauses to help emerging and developing countries deal with climate shocks. Food systems were brought into the NDC process.
“While all of these are important steps forward, ultimately in the year when climate shocks have dominated the news, the lack of a sufficiently clear multilateral commitment to a phaseout of fossil fuels is what this COP will be judged for. Business and finance need a strong and ambitious policy framework to support an orderly transition, a fact that has at least been recognised in the text of the agreement. We’re at the eleventh hour in the race to keep 1.5 alive – the onus now will be on action from every quarter – governments, businesses, finance, NGO and academic community. It is this action that will determine how we transition to a more sustainable economy.” - Nina Seega, Director for Sustainable Finance, CISL
"Businesses across Europe have called for the end of fossil fuels, and scaling up of renewables and energy efficiency. The EU has stood up for this and the result shows a move towards the inevitable end of fossil fuels. Now the EU should put their money where their mouth is - move to ensure global climate finance and continue to put in place effective and robust policies to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, including a target of at least 90% by 2040." - Ursula Woodburn, Director CLG Europe
“Businesses and the government in the UK have stood together in calling for a fossil fuel phase out, peak emissions by 2025, triple global renewables and double energy efficiency by 2030, and to ensure finance flows for adaptation. While the final result from COP28 has not gone as far as hoped, now is the time for the UK to refocus and demonstrate leadership on these issues and how they can be delivered domestically even without a global agreement in place to drive them.” - Bev Cornaby, Director, UK Corporate Leaders Group