COP28: Pressure mounts for agreement on equitable fossil fuel phase out deal and on adaptation

9 December, Dubai: At a press briefing by Climate Action Network (CAN), civil society leaders demanded a roadmap that will deliver on a fossil fuel phase out and for the financial building blocks to be put in place to help global south countries achieve the energy transition.  

Jean Su, Director of the Energy Justice Program, Center for Biological Diversity, said:

“We have four days left at this COP where we are trying to get the first commitment ever on fossil fuels. We are on the precipice of an incredible fossil fuel breakthrough and we are here to push every single country to finally deliver.

“It is morally reprehensible that we are 28 years into climate talks and are only seeing fossil fuel phase out being discussed now. We need to amp up the ambition with 2030 deadlines on a significant phase down of fossil fuels and force rich countries to help with finance in order to get the global south countries to leapfrog over our fossil fuel system and get to renewable energy.

“Key fossil fuel producers like the US, Canada, Norway and Australia have to take a moral stance for people and the planet by stopping their own production and to step up with finance because they have disproportionately polluted the planet.” 

Tracy Carty, Global Climate Politics Expert, Greenpeace International, called for a clear statement on a fossil fuel phase out.

She said: “The latest text includes the building blocks for a fair, fossil fuel phase out but also ingredients for a massive failure. Currently, government plans to produce fossil fuels are more than double what’s needed by 2030 to hit the 1.5 goal so it’s a huge concern that there is no text on the table that is clear or commits to a rapid decline in fossil fuels.

“The global oil and gas industry’s profits last year were $4 trillion so if we make the polluters pay for the harm and destruction they have caused, we will be well on our way to meeting urgent finance needs. We don’t have an absence of money, we have an absence of government action to hold polluters to account. It’s rich developed countries that need to be taking a lead in that endeavour.”  

Obed Koringo, Climate Policy Adviser for CARE Denmark, said:

“Negotiations on adaptation are hurtling towards a damaging global failure. COP28 is dropping the ball on adaptation and we’re afraid it will have catastrophic consequences for communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis, including women and girls. Failure to make progress on adaptation discussions means failure to address the climate disasters, risks and vulnerabilities that developing countries face. 

“Adopting an ambitious Framework for the Global Goal on Adaptation is vital to get progress on adaptation back on track. Wealthy countries must keep their promises without rewriting the rules once again. At COP28, parties must agree on a transparent and actionable roadmap to fulfil their commitment of at least doubling adaptation finance by 2025 to reach $40 billion.”

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MEDIA CONTACT AT COP28
Dharini Parthasarathy, Global Communications Lead, Climate Action Network International, dparthasarathy@climatenetwork.org / +918826107830  

CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK
Climate Action Network (CAN) is a global network of over 2000 civil society groups in more than 150 countries together fighting the climate crisis. More information on www.climatenetwork.org

Link to Webcast of Press Conference