COP28 officially closed on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, in Dubai, with countries agreeing to transition away from fossil fuels.
This is the first time that the COP acknowledges and agrees to address the main cause of the climate crisis and sends a signal on the end the era of fossil fuel era.
But some stakeholders are worried that this road to transition away from fossil fuels will be at risk from the start because, yet again, there is no agreement on how the energy transition will be funded and how historical polluters will take responsibility for ensuring that justice and equity is delivered for the vulnerable peoples and countries in the global South.
According to them, the lack of finance and the loopholes of false solutions included in the agreement cannot be a backdoor to the fossil fuel industry that obstructs the full transition away from fossil fuels.
They tagged COP28 a fossil fuel COP – not because it was hosted in a petrostate, presided over by a fossil fuel executive, and flooded by fossil fuel lobbyists, but because people power and mounting political will led by progressive governments finally put the central cause of the climate crisis at the centre of the climate talks.
Dr. Oulie Keita, the Executive Director of Greenpeace Africa, said: “Today’s agreement represents a hopeful stride in our collective journey limiting warming to 1.5 degrees. However, its true value will be measured by the tangible actions it prompts, particularly in the communities that have long borne the brunt of climate change. These communities have clearly articulated their needs: a swift, just, and complete transition away from fossil fuels. We stand in solidarity with them in advocating for this essential shift.
“The major contributors to climate change must be held accountable for their actions and are made responsible for the environmental damage they have caused. Unfortunately, this agreement falls short in outlining specific strategies for financing this energy transition and ensuring that historical polluters accept and act upon their responsibilities.
“Africa is blessed with abundant renewable resources, like solar and wind energy. Our investments must pivot decisively towards these sustainable avenues. Our collective future, our people’s well-being, and our planet’s health depend on it. As we move forward, let us unite as a continent not in pursuing short-term profits but in a shared commitment to the best interests of our people, future generations, and the very Earth we inhabit.
“Africa’s path to true liberation lies in achieving climate justice. Fossil fuels represent not just an environmental threat but a perpetuation of oppression, exploitation, and a form of neo-colonialism. Our continent endures the harshest impacts of the climate crisis, and it is incumbent upon our leaders to pursue solutions that address these challenges and seek restitution for the harm inflicted.”
Kaisa Kosonen, Greenpeace International, said: “The signal that the fossil industry has been afraid of is there: ending the fossil fuel era, along with a call to massively scale up renewables and efficiency this decade, but it’s buried under many dangerous distractions and without sufficient means to achieve it in a fair and fast manner.
“You won’t find the words ‘phase out’ in the text, but that’s what the equitable transition away from fossil fuels in line with 1.5°C and science will necessitate, when implemented sustainably. And that’s what we’re determined to make happen, now more than ever. The outcome leaves poorer countries well short of the resources they will need for renewable energy transition and other needs. For the many goals of the agreement to be realised, rich countries will need to significantly step-up financial support and make fossil fuel polluters pay. Only last year the fossil fuel industry made $4 trillion in profits, and they need to start paying for the harm and destruction they have caused.
“This is not the historical deal that the world needed: It has many loopholes and shortcomings. But history will be made if all those nearly 130 countries, businesses, local leaders and civil society voices, who came together to form an unprecedented force for change, now take this determination and make the fossil fuel phase out happen. Most urgently that means stopping all those expansion plans that are pushing us over the 1.5°C limit right now.”
Ghiwa Nakat, Executive Director, Greenpeace MENA, said: “COP28 has sent an unprecedented signal to the world that the curtain has been raised for the end of the fossil fuel era. We commend the efforts of the COP presidency to conclude with a final acknowledgement of the need to transition away from fossil fuels and to mobilise climate finance with more than $700million pledged to the operationalised Loss and Damage Fund. But communities on the frontline of the climate catastrophe need more than this. They need to see an unwavering and resolute commitment to a rapid, equitable, and well-funded phaseout of all fossil fuels – together with a comprehensive finance package for developing countries to transition to renewables and cope with escalating climate impacts. We leave Dubai knowing that hope is still alive, but our mission is far from over!”
Johan Rockström, Earth system scientist and Co-Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research: “No, the COP28 agreement will not enable the world to hold the 1.5°C limit, but yes, the result is a pivotal landmark.
“This agreement delivers on making it clear to all financial institutions, businesses and societies that we are now finally – eight years behind the Paris schedule – at the true “beginning of the end” of the fossil-fuel driven world economy. Science called for a mitigation COP, and we got a mitigation COP, focused on the transition away from fossil-fuels. All stakeholders in the world must now act accordingly, and deliver on the COP28 Global Stocktake Agreement, which means rapidly transitioning away from oil, coal and gas, aiming at more than 40 % reductions by 2030 and reaching net-zero by 2050, as recognized in the text.
“Yet, the transition away from fossil-fuel statement remains too vague, with no hard and accountable boundaries for 2030, 2040 and 2050. There is no recognition of the fact that scaling carbon dioxide removal technologies needs to occur in addition to fossil-fuel phase out, to have any chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. And there is no convincing plan on how the transition away from fossil-fuels will occur. We know it will not happen through national voluntary means alone. Collective, global agreements, on finance, carbon pricing, and technology exchange are also needed, at a scale that vastly exceeds what is now on the table.”
Ottmar Edenhofer, climate economist and Co-Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research: “It is clear from the COP28 summary document, accepted by all states, that under the impact of the advancing climate crisis, there is now no more business-as-usual for the global economy. Now it’s about the end of the fossil fuel age – that is real progress. The call to action to move away from coal, oil and gas with the aim of achieving greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050 is an important point of reference for governments around the world. The EU member states with their major climate protection plan, the European Green Deal, should be encouraged to stay the course, as should the USA with its Inflation Reduction Act.
“In certain sectors, such as the chemical industry, we will still need oil and gas in 2050 – according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we will by then only be able to forgo 67 and 90 percent of these, respectively. To compensate for this, CO2 must be removed from the atmosphere and stored underground. It is good that the COP summary document makes it clear that these processes should be used for sectors with emissions that are difficult to avoid, and not for a general ‘business-as-usual’ approach.
“The COP’s statements on the expansion of renewable energies by 30 percent by 2030, and on financial aid to compensate for climate damage and climate change adaptation, are also positive. Overall, the governments of the rich industrialised countries must provide extensive support to the Global South for the climate transition to succeed. To convey this politically, they will have to communicate clearly that doing nothing would be much more expensive. As early as 2030, the emission of one tonne of CO2 will cause around 400 euros in climate damage.
“To rapidly reduce the consumption of fossil fuels worldwide, we need credible announcements on continuous increases in carbon pricing and, at the same time, on financial compensation for the population and the economy. Carbon pricing must become more widespread and internationally linked. Climate tariffs, as announced by the EU, and a climate club, as initiated by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the context of the G7 states, can help to ensure that the end of the fossil fuel age proclaimed by the COP can actually be heralded.”
May Boeve, Executive Director of 350.org: “People power has propelled us to the doorstep of history, but leaders have stopped short of entering the future we need. It is frustrating that thirty years of campaigning managed to get ‘transition from fossil fuels’ in the COP text, but it is surrounded by so many loopholes that it has been rendered weak and ineffectual. The prize is finally on the table – a phaseout of fossil fuels and a world powered by renewable energy – but rather than clearing the way to it, we’ve been presented with yet another set of distracting doors that could still hold oil and gas expansion, and we don’t know just where the finance will come from.
“The change we have seen in negotiators’ stance is a weak but welcome nod to the communities who have spoken loud and clear over the past few weeks: from Jakarta to New Orleans, Rio de Janeiro to Lamu – 350.org’s community organised campaigns have shown that we are ready to Power Up our own future. The energy revolution is already underway, as we stand by to build Our Own Power.
“We hoped this COP would bring international governments to the same building site, and for wealthy nations like Australia, Canada, the EU, the UK and the US to pay their fair share, and support the most vulnerable countries to transition to a 100% renewable future. That would be leadership to match what we’ve witnessed from the AOSIS states, from our Pacific Climate Warriors, and from the youth movement. That is when we can call this a win.
“We continue to hold the line with change makers around the world: in the streets where we march to demand climate justice; in the fields and forests where we block fossil fuel expansion; in renewable energy cooperatives where we’re creating the future; and in the communities where we nurture care, resilience and change.”
Landry Ninteretse, Regional Director, 350Africa.org: “Our expectation was that COP28 would, at the very least, demonstrate commitment to course correcting and charting a path to a complete phase out of all fossil fuels, a sustainable future built on renewables, ambitious adaptation finance and clear technology transfer commitments by rich nations. The support for the tripling of renewable energy, has ignited optimism and energized communities that have been putting their own power behind the call to power up renewables.
“However, the process failed to deliver on the commitment to a full, fast and fair phase out of fossil fuels and was lacking in the climate finance to support adaptation and mitigation in the most climate vulnerable nations. To truly deliver climate justice, the biggest polluters must lead on the phaseout and commit to supporting the deployment of renewable energy in Africa.”
Joseph Sikulu, Pacific Managing Director at 350.org: “While the outcome speaks to transitioning away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy, change continues to be incremental, not transformational. COP28 promised us an historic achievement and what we have received is a weak outcome with several of our red lines for survival being crossed. Our islands deserve more than weak, we deserve concrete actions to stay below 1.5 degrees and the resources to adapt and transition our developing economies.
“While it does acknowledge the root cause of the climate crisis – fossil fuels – it again fails to phase out coal, oil and gas. While it does acknowledge the need to triple renewable energy, it fails to set a clear quantitative goal. It is not enough for us to reference the science and then make agreements that ignore what the science is telling us we need to do. We will not let the future of the Pacific fall through loopholes like ‘abatement’ and ‘transitional fuels’, and we will hold countries like Australia accountable, who continue to delay a true phaseout with dangerous distractions. Every year, we travel across oceans to come to these negotiations and fight tooth and nail to keep 1.5 alive, and it is clear that climate vulnerable countries and frontline communities are the ones doing the heavy lifting.
“We continue to hold the line with change makers around the world: in the streets where we march to demand climate justice; in the fields and forests where we block fossil fuel expansion; in renewable energy cooperatives where we’re creating the future; and in the communities where we nurture care, resilience and change.”
Peri Dias, Latin America Representative at COP28: “This year, we were outnumbered by fossil fuel lobbyists. At COP30, Indigenous people, those on the frontline and anyone contributing to climate justice must outnumber fossil fuel lobbyists and blockers. We urge the Brazilian government to start working on an ambitious process that puts people at the centre of the climate talks. Now we have two years to make a difference – if the COP process is to deliver on something meaningful, this is the last opportunity.
“The climate movement has shown its power by achieving the inclusion of the transition away from fossil fuels in the text, albeit 30 years overdue, but we have much more to achieve in the next two years, especially in relation to financing the energy transition, adaptation measures and compensation for Loss and Damage, which are a matter of life and death for regions like Latin America. Traditional communities and the most vulnerable populations will demand climate justice even more fiercely in the next two years, to ensure that we have at COP30, in Brazil, the culmination of the urgent advances in these areas.”
Agnes Hall, Global Campaigns Director at 350.org: “There were at least 2,456 fossil fuel lobbyists at this COP. Yet they could not stop the end of the fossil fuel era. They’ve managed to sneak in loopholes to derail the climate talks once again, but their massive presence tells another story: they are scared because they know their time is over. They are pouring all their resources and all their power in a last all-in effort to try and save their business model one last time.
“The fossil fuel industry was represented up to the level of the COP28 presidency. While Dr. Sultan Al Jaber has sent mixed messages on fossil fuel phaseout throughout the negotiations, this final outcome is not the historic deal he promised. There are many leaders accountable for this, and they shall be held to account. The French Government invited Patrick Pouyanné (CEO of TotalEnergies) to be part of the French delegation. They gave him access to the climate talks, and let him actively work against our collective interest, for the sake of saving TotalEnergies’ blood oil, blood gas and blood profits.
“We are calling on the UNFCCC and future COP presidency to implement a conflict-of-interest policy, and ban fossil fuel lobbyists from the climate talks, just like the WHO Framework convention on Tobacco Control bans representatives from the tobacco industry.”
Andreas Sieber, Associate Director of Policy and Campaigns at 350.org: “This text is a step forward on our path towards phasing out fossil fuels but is not the historic decision we were promised. Despite the record number of fossil fuel lobbyists in attendance, and a COP president who is the CEO of an oil company, civil society and more than 100 countries have won an agreement to rapidly move away from fossil fuels this decade. But given the overwhelming momentum among countries in support of a renewable energy package and a long overdue fossil fuel phase out, we needed a far more ambitious result.”
JL Andrepont, US Policy Lead at 350.org: “Let’s be clear: this drafted text is an improvement and includes some key commitments, but the bar was low. And we know that we can only keep our climate goals within reach and will only be standing with the frontlines of the climate crisis, like small island nations, if we begin a fast, fair, full phaseout. It is past time for the US to take real responsibility for its role in the climate crisis, and the fight continues.”
Masayoshi Iyoda, Japan Campaigner, 350.org: “While the agreement at COP28 of tripling renewable energy and doubling energy efficiency is encouraging for climate activists in Japan, it gives homework to fossil-addicted nations including Japan to accelerate a fair and fast transition away from all fossil fuels by 2030. The COP decision leaves some room for dangerous distractions such as nuclear, CCS, and transition fuels that could prolong the lifetime of fossil fuel infrastructure. Still, people power will never be defeated by such delay tactics. The science is clear enough. Japan must contribute to the 1.5 goal by committing to the phaseout of all fossil fuels in its national ‘Basic Energy Plan’ and provide support for community-led renewable energy in Japan, the Asia region, and everywhere in the world.”
Lisa Rose, Associate Director, 350.org Europe: “COP28 will be remembered as the first COP to finally include a transition away from fossil fuels in its outcomes. But ultimately, COP28 has failed to deliver on the full, fast, fair and funded fossil fuel phaseout the world needs. The EU claims to be a climate leader, but it now needs to walk the talk – EU Commissioner of Climate Action Wopke Hoekstra must push for a real phase-out of all fossil fuels, and European countries and institutions must drastically step up their financial support to vulnerable countries.”
Norly Mercado, Asia Regional Director at 350.org: “Asia, a region that is home to communities bearing the brunt of climate impacts and who have contributed the least to the climate crisis, needed COP28 to conclude with a robust outcome on climate finance. This updated text – in particular the acknowledgement that we need to leave fossil fuels behind – is an improvement that is thanks to the tireless work of the climate movement. However, COP28 could have gone much further to rapidly usher in a fossil-free, renewable powered world with the urgency we need. It needed strong signals to deliver rapid, equitable finance to facilitate a just transition in the Global South and keep global heating under 1.5 degrees – on this front, it has not succeeded.”
Nikki Reisch, CIEL’s Director of Climate & Energy Programme: “Countries at COP28 faced a choice between fossil fuels and life. And big polluters chose fossil fuels. Despite the unstoppable momentum and unequivocal science behind the need for a clear signal on the phaseout of oil, gas, and coal – free of loopholes or limitations – the text failed to deliver one. This failure was thirty years in the making, borne of a process that allows a select few countries to hold progress hostage and the fossil fuel industry not just to sit at the table, but to play host. Survival cannot depend on lowest-common-denominator outcomes. We need alternative forums to manage the decline of fossil fuels, free from the influence of those who profit from them. So long as the biggest polluters, the United States chief among them, continue recklessly expanding oil and gas and staunchly refusing to provide climate finance on anything approaching the scale needed, the world will remain on a death course. Ultimately, lives depend not on what countries profess in these halls, but what they do outside of them.
“The annual UN climate summit unfolded against a backdrop of devastating climate chaos, unprecedented restrictions on freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. Condemning the genocide in the making in Gaza, climate justice advocates insisted every day at the COP that there can be no climate justice without human rights. CIEL joins the call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, and an end to illegal occupation and apartheid. We denounce the complicity of Western powers – including through their votes at the UN General Assembly and as they silence free speech and freedom of assembly for those speaking up against these international crimes and human rights abuses.”
Lili Fuhr, CIEL’s Director of Fossil Economy Programme: “Just a year ago at COP27, carbon capture and storage (CCS), was merely a loophole, unnoticed by most. At COP28, the question of ‘to abate or not to abate’ took centre stage, with CCS offered up as a technological saviour. But under public scrutiny, the fossil fuel industry’s favourite pretext was stripped bare, exposing the abysmal track record of carbon capture technologies and the climate-wrecking reality of ‘abated’ fossil fuels like ‘clean’ hydrogen, ‘blue’ ammonia, or ‘low carbon’ gas.
“The fossil fuel industry called in record numbers of lobbyists, but they were met with a united front of science and grassroots power. Carbon capture pipedreams were exposed as a massive and dangerous distraction that could ignite the fuse of some of the largest carbon bombs. Now, stripped of its facade, the fossil emperor has no clothes, and the industry has no license to pollute. Industry greenwashing tactics must not derail our path to a fossil-free economy.”
Sébastien Duyck, Campaign Manager for Human Rights and Climate Change and Senior Attorney at CIEL: “Despite being touted by the host country as the most inclusive COP ever, independent and critical voices from the region were barred from participating. The UAE’s decision to initiate a new collective trial of political detainees during the summit, under the global community’s watchful eye, was deeply concerning. UN officials further restricted civil society’s freedom of speech – particularly regarding the war on Gaza and human rights in the Gulf region – preventing civil society from holding governments accountable and demanding climate justice.
“In stark contrast, while civil society was muzzled, more than 2,000 fossil fuel lobbyists were welcomed with open arms and allowed to freely promote the economic interests of their industry.
“By participating in COP28 without forcefully denouncing these abuses, governments and UN authorities have made themselves complicit in the host country’s PR stunt. As Parties accepted Azerbaijan’s offer to host COP29 despite its restrictions on free speech and history of fossil fuel-linked diplomatic scandals, they must learn from the failures of COP28 and urgently establish robust guardrails against human rights abuses and corporate capture in order to protect what little credibility is left in this process.”
Lien Vandamme, CIEL Senior Campaigner: “While the climate crisis is devastating people and communities around the world, the deal agreed at COP28 is a testament to wealthy nations’ persistent avoidance of responsibilities. The Loss and Damage Fund will do little to repair and remedy the widespread human rights violations communities are suffering from decades of climate inaction. The millions promised for the Loss and Damage Fund at COP28 are a drop in the ocean of what is needed. On the premise of urgently getting the Loss and Damage Fund to reach communities, developed countries have pushed through a flawed structure, yet they now fail to deliver the hundreds of billions necessary to make it work.
“This speaks to the hypocrisy we’ve seen in these conversations and the limitations of treating loss and damage finance as charity rather than an obligation. The same hypocrisy undermined any possibility of getting an ambitious outcome on fossil fuel phaseout, as nations like the US and in the EU refuse to deliver the public finance needed to make a just energy transition happen in developing countries. Their continued expansion and export of fossil fuels, coupled with lack of commitment to support a global energy transition, make their speeches empty words. This is compounded by spending billions on war and militarization, further undermining their proclaimed intentions.”
Erika Lennon, CIEL Senior Attorney: “After two weeks of negotiations and attempts to pass off carbon markets as climate finance, Parties finally succeeded by preventing the adoption of weak rules under Article 6 that would have opened the door to dangerous distractions and undermined human rights, the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and our chances to stay below 1.5°C. At a COP that was largely about fossil fuels, after a year of scandals revealing failures and human rights violations in carbon markets, refusing to succumb to the pressure to adopt weak rules was the bare minimum.
“No matter how fervently proponents claim that offsets can be improved, they will never reduce emissions if they are used to offset fossil fuel production and use. And no amount of rhetoric can turn carbon markets into the real, grants-based climate finance owed to support developing countries in adapting to the climate crisis and transitioning to a fossil-free future. Failure to adopt weak rules to enable carbon trading was one of the few right decisions countries made in Dubai; endorsing carbon markets with few safeguards would have made the COP28 outcome even more catastrophic.”
Mary Church, Senior Geoengineering Campaigner at CIEL: “It is alarming to see highly risky and speculative solar and marine geoengineering technologies promoted as ‘climate intervention strategies’ at COP28. Manipulating the stratosphere or our oceans will not address the root causes of the climate crisis but will cause further environmental harms and unprecedented risks to human rights.
“Science clearly shows that the only way to meet Paris Agreement goals is to phase out fossil fuels and protect and restore the ecosystems on which all life depends. We cannot allow dangerous distractions to delay that urgent task. When solar geoengineering is on the table this spring at the UN Environment Assembly, Parties must reject geoengineering technologies and prioritise real solutions.”
Tasneem Essop, Executive Director, Climate Action Network International: “In the hottest year on record, our collective power as people across the world resulted in the first ever signal that the world needs to transition away from fossil fuels, the major cause of the climate crisis. However, vulnerable peoples and countries cannot be left with the burden to fund this transition to address a crisis they did not cause. The polluting countries and companies must deliver the funding to achieve a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels.
“The COP outcome opened the road for a fossil fuel free world, but this road is full of potholes, dangerous distractions and if allowed, could lead to a dead end. We are determined to fight for securing international support from the rich nations for the developing world as a key enabler for more ambitious commitments and a just and equitable transition to a fossil free future.”
Harjeet Singh, Head of global political strategy at Climate Action Network International: “After decades of evasion, COP28 finally cast a glaring spotlight on the real culprits of the climate crisis: fossil fuels. A long-overdue direction to move away from coal, oil, and gas has been set. Yet, the resolution is marred by loopholes that offer the fossil fuel industry numerous escape routes, relying on unproven, unsafe technologies.
“The hypocrisy of wealthy nations, particularly the USA, as they continue to expand fossil fuel operations massively while merely paying lip service to the green transition, stands exposed. Developing countries, still dependent on fossil fuels for energy, income, and jobs, are left without robust guarantees for adequate financial support in their urgent and equitable transition to renewable energy.
“Although COP28 recognised the immense financial shortfall in tackling climate impacts, the final outcomes fall disappointingly short of compelling wealthy nations to fulfil their financial responsibilities – obligations amounting to hundreds of billions, which remain unfulfilled.”
Teresa Anderson, Global lead on climate justice, ActionAid International: “COP28 has spotlighted that while the world’s appetite for climate action has moved significantly forward, its willingness to pay lags behind. The mission to move to a fossil-free future does not yet have the finance components needed to make this goal workable for lower-income countries. If rich countries had been willing to put real finance and fair timelines on the table, the outcome could have been much stronger. Finding ways forward on climate finance, and how we can cover the costs for the world we want to build together, must now be part of every climate conversation moving forward.
“Civil society can be incredibly proud of the momentum built to get us to this point. COP28 has resulted in an outcome that should discourage institutions from investing in assets that will soon be stranded. But there is still much more to do to ensure that we can really fund our future. At COP29 in Baku, all eyes will be on the negotiations for the New Collective Quantified Goal on finance.”
Romain Ioualalen, Global Policy Manager at Oil Change International: “We secured the first UN climate agreement that calls on all countries to ‘transition away from fossil fuels’, but this agreement does not deliver the full, fast, fair, funded phaseout of fossil fuels that global communities urgently demand for a just energy transition. Rich countries must pay their fair share to enable a just transition in the Global South. Disgracefully, the agreement is littered with loopholes, leaving escape hatches for the fossil fuel industry that could undermine the transition away from fossil fuels.”
Mohamed Adow, Director of Power Shift Africa: “For the first time in three decades of climate negotiations the words fossil fuels have ever made it into a COP outcome. We are finally naming the elephant in the room. The genie is never going back into the bottle and future COPs will only turn the screws even more on dirty energy.
“Although we’re sending a strong signal with one hand, there’s still too many loopholes on unproven and expensive technologies like carbon capture and storage to keep dirty energy on life support. The transition may be fast, the text calls for a transition away from fossil fuels in this critical decade. But the transition is not funded or fair. We’re still missing enough finance to help developing countries decarbonise and there needs to be greater expectation on rich fossil fuel producers to phase out first.
“Some people may have had their expectations for this meeting raised too high, but this result would have been unheard off two years ago, especially at a COP meeting in a petrostate. It shows that even oil and gas producers can see we’re heading for a fossil free world.”
Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, WWF Global Climate and Energy Lead, and COP20 President: “The earth is down but not out, as countries agree to transition away from fossil fuels, but fall short of consensus on the full phase out of coal, oil and gas at COP28. Nevertheless, a decision to transition away from fossil fuels is a significant moment. After three decades of UN climate negotiations, countries have at last shifted the focus to the polluting fossil fuels driving the climate crisis. This outcome must signal the beginning of the end for the fossil fuel era.
“It is unfortunate that with the inclusion of the word ‘unabated’, the outcome suggests there is a considerable role for dangerous distractions such as large-scale carbon capture and storage and ‘transitional fuels’. This is not the case. For a liveable planet we need a full phase out of all fossil fuels. The Global Stocktake is clear that eight years on from the Paris Agreement, we are still way off course to limit global warming to 1.5oC and avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis. In this critical decade, all countries must enhance the ambition and implementation of climate action. It is vital that countries work now to transform their energy systems and replace polluting fossil fuels with clean and cheaper renewable energy, such as wind and solar, at an unprecedented speed and scale.”
Jess Beagley, Policy Lead, Global Climate and Health Alliance, USCAN: “Fossil fuels are the leading driver of climate change and its health impacts and inflict additional health hazards from the moment of extraction to combustion. While this text clearly signals the impending end of the fossil fuel era, naming the need to end dependence on fossil fuels for the first time in a 30-year process, it leaves gaping and potentially dangerous loopholes such as carbon capture and storage, “transitional fuels” like fossil gas, and nuclear power. Meanwhile, language on adaptation and finance leaves vulnerable people unprotected and risks reinforcing cycles of debt, disease and death.
Hailey Campbell, Co-Executive Director, Care About Climate, USCAN: “Some genuine strides forward were made in the GST, but as the room uproared in celebration we, the youth, did not clap. We will not clap for complacency and an outcome that does not openly safeguard our future by funding an equitable fossil fuel phase out. This shouldn’t be called the UAE consensus, but rather the UAE compromise. We will keep fighting for our future.”
Gaia Fevre, International Policy Manager, CAN-France: “The agreement adopted at COP28 contains a political signal to “transition away” from fossil fuels. But it doesn’t go far enough: not least because the financial resources are not in place to support the countries that need it most. But also, because there are a number of very worrying mentions: gas as a transitional energy, carbon capture and storage and nuclear power. The decision does not live up to its ambitious promises.”
Joab Okanda, Senior Climate Advisor, Christian Aid: “We now need to see rich countries following up their warm words about wanting a fossil fuel phase out with actions to actually bring it about and end their use of coal, oil and gas by the end of this decade. Rich fossil fuel using countries will need to decarbonise first, with middle income countries going next and then the poorest countries after that.”
Joseph Robertson, Executive Director, Citizens’ Climate International: “We welcome COP28 breakthroughs on food systems, the Global Stocktake, and recognizing fossil fuels as a primary driver of global heating. With emissions still rising, we know the only way to limit global heating to 1.5ºC and secure a livable future is a full phase-out of fossil fuels. We look forward to the rapid scaling up of non-market international cooperation to align all trade and finance with 1.5ºC.”
Tearfund Ambassador and Climate Scientist, Laura Young: “The final outcome of the UN climate talks has shifted the dial though it falls short of the landmark energy agreement that would have hailed the end of the fossil fuel era. The result is a mixed bag of transitioning away from fossil fuels whilst opening the door to dangerous distractions and weakening of past commitments. We should applaud that countries have pledged to triple renewables and double energy efficiency by 2030, but unless coal, oil and gas are phased out at the same time, we’ll continue to fuel climate disaster.’
“Despite this mixed outcome, we’ve seen unprecedented support for the clean energy transition. The science is clear, the solutions exist, and the momentum is growing. Leaders and negotiators also publicly recognised, with greater honesty and clarity than ever before, the vital need to end the fossil fuel era. The scales are starting to tip, but the hour is late. The longer we delay decisive action the greater the cost of our inaction will be for all of us and people living in poverty most of all.”
Lavetanalagi Seru, Regional Coordinator, Pacific Islands Climate Action Network: “The COP28 outcome has signalled that the days of the fossil fuel industry are numbered. There is a growing momentum to transition away from all fossil fuels. This is an incremental step towards the right direction; however, it falls short of climate justice and equity for our frontline communities, with those contributing the most to the climate crisis avoiding their responsibility to provide the finance and support to developing countries to transition and build resilience. This outcome continues to allow for dangerous distractions and loopholes, such as carbon capture, nuclear, and removal technologies, and weakening language on gender, human rights, indigenous rights, which is deeply disappointing.”
Sven Harmeling, Global Policy Lead, CARE Climate Justice Centre: “The decision agreed at COP28 signals the fossil fuel era is coming to an end. Now, wealthy and high emitting countries must take urgent action to phase out fossil fuels. They have reaped the rewards of oil, gas and coal expansion while people living in the poorest communities in the world are paying with their lives. “Sadly, developing countries have not yet seen the delivery of support required to confront the climate crisis. They are being asked to pick up much of the bill for the climate crisis. The agreement does not include anything like the required financial support for adaptation.
“This is a life and death issue, particularly for women and girls living in Africa. Existing promises on adaptation must be met in full without delay, while the New Collective Quantifiable Goal, to be agreed in 2024 at COP29, needs to be radically more ambitious. “Operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund was a landmark day for climate justice. Yet, the meagre financial pledges and questionable administration of the Fund raise the alarm about developed countries’ commitment to making it a success.”
Natalie Unterstell, President, Instituto Talanoa: “We’ve achieved the once-thought impossible task of setting an end to the fossil fuels era, a significant win over the last 30 years of oil and gas diplomacy. The GST calls on governments to set a clear fossil fuel transition timeline, in line with the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, pushing major producers of oil, gas, and coal to rethink their strategies and set clear transition plans. Also, it pushes all economies, in all countries and regions in the world, to get free from fossils. To that end, unfortunately, the GST decision does not secure financing, particularly for poorest developing nations. COP29, dubbed the Finance COP, will have to address this gap.”
Isatis Cintron, Climate Trace Puerto Rico: “COP28 established language that can potentially course correct by mentioning fossil fuels for the first time in a UNFCCC. The COP28 outcome does not deliver climate justice, climate action must not be only about words. Climate action is not a sea of words or empty promises. We have a goal, but it doesn’t outline how we will get there. A goal without a plan is just a wish. We must not forget how we got here and the historical responsibilities. Our pathway can’t lack climate justice, gender-responsive, conflict-sensitive, participatory and accountability approaches. We need coherence and countries to put their money where their mouth is. An achievement without people at the centre can’t be historical. Fast, fair, & equitable climate action implementation is inescapable.”
Inger Ashing, Chief Executive Officer, Save the Children International: “The agreement on transitioning away from fossil fuels can only be a starting point to protect children who continue to bear the brunt of the climate crisis, a crisis not of their making. Year after year, children share how the climate crisis impacts their lives. Imagine a world where your home, your school, and your family’s livelihoods are swept away. It’s a harsh reality that children on the frontlines of the climate crisis are facing today. It’s high time we stand with children and place their voices at the heart of every aspect of climate change decision-making and financing. Governments worldwide must take this decision to heart, accelerate towards a greener, safer, and more sustainable future for our children. We need to act now; our children’s lives depend on it.”
Sanjay Vashist, Director, Climate Action Network South Asia: “The outcome of COP28 makes it clear that the world only belongs to the rich and influential in developed countries. The removal of equity and human rights principles from the final outcome text indicates that vulnerable communities in developing countries need to save themselves on their own and the real climate culprits are not coming to their rescue. We cannot celebrate mere inclusion of reference to fossil fuels in the text if it comes without means of implementation and finance for energy transition for poor and developing countries. If this is what a ‘historical outcome’ looks like, then it is on the wrong side of history.”
Javier Andaluz Prieto, Climate and Energy Head, Ecologistas en Acción: “This decision falls far short of the decisive and historic action we need. The inability of the countries of the global North to facilitate a just transition across the planet, coupled with the blockades of oil-interested countries such as the US and Saudi Arabia, continue to put 1.5°C at risk, no matter how much consensus is said to exist on the issue. Civil society will continue to challenge the loopholes on this text and demand equitable funding.”
Iskander Erzini Vernoit, Director, IMAL Initiative: “COP28 is a COP of commitments which are at once unprecedented and hollow. History will judge COP28 for whether the unprecedented commitments it makes are ultimately supported by the financing required. The goal to transition away from fossil fuels, the Global Goal on Adaptation, the Loss and Damage Fund all require funding from developed countries responsible for the climate crisis. The quantity and quality of the New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance, to be agreed next year, will be the test of the strength of the commitments made here in Dubai.”
Caroline Brouillette, Executive Director, Climate Action Network Canada: “Civil society and the countries and communities on the front lines of the climate crisis came to Dubai to reckon with the moment we are in during the hottest year ever recorded. The COP28 outcome brings important wins, with the operationalization of the loss and damage fund and the first-ever global recognition that fossil fuels must be relegated to history – and it gives us another day to fight. And fight we must, for the Global North to finally deliver the financial and technical support needed to make this energy transition unstoppable. At the same time, as communities around the world are already facing the heart-wrenching impacts of the convergent climate and debt crises, Canada and other rich countries must live up to their responsibilities and step up on finance for adaptation and loss and damage.”
Gilles Dufrasne, Policy Lead on Global Carbon Markets, Carbon Market Watch: “The absence of a deal on Article 6 avoids replicating the errors of the voluntary carbon market and sending the wrong signal to companies and countries seeking to sidestep their climate responsibilities. Trading carbon credits requires strong environmental and human rights guardrails, as has been shown by the numerous scandals related to the voluntary carbon market that broke out over the past 12 months. The text on the table just didn’t provide this. It would have risked reproducing the mistakes of voluntary carbon markets, and by rejecting it, negotiators made the best out of a bad situation.”
André-Yanne Parent, Executive Director, Climate Reality Canada: “There’s one way to stop rising temperatures and ensure a livable future: Equitably phase out fossil fuels and transition to true net zero by 2050. End of story. Until we have the honesty to enshrine that in the decision text, it won’t meet the science and climate justice requirements. The critical issue here is that it will happen, either in an orderly, just, equitable way or not. Saving millions of lives, allowing ecosystems to blossom, or not. Upholding Indigenous peoples’ rights, human rights, workers’ rights with gender responsive measures, or not. Wealthy nations created this climate crisis.
“COP28 was the opportunity to right this wrong and adequately plan a global response to the biggest crisis of all, adequately finance Global South nations to rebuild after climate disasters, adapt to our warming world, and build resilient clean energy economies. Unfortunately, while this decision makes history, it allows dangerous loopholes with unproven technologies and it falls short in terms of scale, means of implementation and equity.”
Nithi Nesadurai, Director & Regional Coordinator, Climate Action Network Southeast Asia: “The COP28 decision on transitioning away from fossil fuels provides a clear and strong signal and hook, for those of us working on energy transition to renewable energy and energy efficiency worldwide. Yet, as language on finance, equity and a rights-based framework are missing, they make the end-goal challenging. It also lets rich countries in the Global North off the hook on finance. The inclusion of false solutions provides a loophole for countries to distract from the single focus of phasing out fossil fuels. These gaps need to be addressed.”
Dr. Rachel Cleetus, the policy director and a lead economist for the Climate and Energy Programme, Union of Concerned Scientists: “The COP28 agreement marks a historic recognition from world leaders that a sharp turn away from fossil fuels toward clean energy in this critical decade and beyond, aligned with the science, is essential to meet our climate goals. Three decades after the first United Nations annual climate talks, this is a long overdue step, albeit with some loopholes, to address the root cause and primary driver of the climate crisis: fossil fuels.
“However, the finance and equity provisions of the decision are highly insufficient and must be improved in the time ahead to ensure low- and middle-income countries can transition to clean energy and close the energy poverty gap. As the world puts these collective goals into action, richer nations like the United States have a responsibility to take the lead in quickly moving away from fossil fuels and providing scaled-up climate finance for developing countries. Without that, we will not be able to succeed in phasing out fossil fuels – which remains essential – nor will we deliver justice for people on the frontlines of the climate crisis.”
Evan Gach, Node Coordinator, Climate Action Network Japan: “A COP decision pointing out the necessity of exiting fossil fuels and transitioning to renewables in order to meet the Paris 1.5℃ goal sends a signal to the world that ending fossil fuels is the inevitable solution to avert a worsening climate crisis and build a more just and equitable world. However, the numerous loopholes included are also a big signal to the people of the world that we must continue fighting to secure a safe, healthy future for current and future generations through a full, rapid, just and funded phaseout of all fossil fuels. This phaseout must be free of false solutions, in line with limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5ºC and include adequate support for developing countries to accelerate their own transitions to renewable energy.”
Karla Maass Wolfenson, Advocacy Advisor, Climate Action Network Latin America (CANLA): “We came to the COP with the certainty that there is no time to lose, and it is time to take the most serious and responsible actions to address the climate crisis. This has a clear name: the end of the fossil fuels era. We leave with a signal, a nod, and a lot of work to do to ensure that the single numeral that effectively offers a vision of a world without fossil fuels can be raised and adequately financed. We also leave COP with a lot of work to do so that the gaps and loopholes proposed in the text can be nationally locked and ensure that there are no more coal power plants, no regressive subsidies, and no incentives for carbon capture and storage technologies that distract us from the goal. The political challenge was enormous, and it was clear to see desperate actions by OPEC, but the crisis is even more incremental, and it is a matter of life and death. This COP leaves us still immersed in a fossil era.”
Tess Woolfenden, Senior Policy Officer, Debt Justice UK: “Rich countries have once again shirked their responsibility and passed the buck onto countries who have done the least to create the climate crisis. COP28 will leave a legacy of a deepening debt crisis, as lower income countries receive inadequate and loan-based climate finance. Without urgent debt cancellation and rich countries significantly scaling up public, grant-based climate finance, it will be impossible for lower income countries to transition to sustainable renewable energy.”
Julia Levin, Associate Director, National Climate, Environmental Defence Canada: “For the first time ever, countries around the world have collectively agreed on the need to leave oil, gas and coal in the ground. There can be no mistake: the era of fossil fuels is quickly coming to an end. Yet, wealthy countries like Canada and the United States – who have an overwhelming responsibility to phase out fossil fuels first and fastest – have failed the global community by refusing to provide the financial support needed from developing countries in order to transition their economies away from fossil fuels, adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis and address the losses and damages being experienced.”
Alex Rafalowicz, Executive Director of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty: “Having the words ‘fossil fuels’ in the text is an important political signal, but it’s a far cry from the ‘historic’ outcome we were all calling for – it is the weakest we could have gotten, it has all the intentionally vague words planted to deceive us, and it is still very reliant on all the unproven technologies we must avoid. Those most responsible for the climate crisis did not bring finance, technology, or actions to start phasing out fossil fuels, instead they brought hollow hypocrisy that poisoned the talks just as they are poisoning life on Earth.
“The vested interests of a few did everything they could to drown out the voices of people and science. OPEC said this would be an irreversible tipping point, and it will be. The record number of fossil fuel lobbyists at this COP was proof that the industry is desperate to defend their interests at the expense of life. They’re merchants of death, but their days are numbered – and they know it.”
Nafkote Dabi, Climate Change Policy Lead, Oxfam International: “COP28 has averted disaster, but the final outcome is grossly inadequate. After five decades of fighting against the oil, gas, and coal giants, there is a whisper of hope that the end of the fossil fuel era is near. But justice is the key puzzle piece missing – and without proper funding on the table for low-income countries, we have nothing to celebrate as it means further debt and inequality. Once again, rich countries are trying to avoid their obligation to support people experiencing the worst impacts of climate breakdown, like those in the Horn of Africa who have recently lost everything from flooding six months after a historic five-season drought and years of hunger. These injustices call for urgent and decisive action, and what has been delivered today is miles away from the historic and ambitious outcome that was promised.”
Fidelis Stehle, President FIMCAP Europe, FIMCAP (Youth Organisation): ““This is not what we wanted and not what the world needs: a full, fast, fair and funded fossil fuel phase-out. The 1.5ºC limit is increasingly being given up and is becoming more and more impossible. The door is being opened to CCS and nuclear, although they are mostly dangerous distractions and not real solutions. The transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems and the tripling of renewable energies are small steps in the right direction, which must be followed above all by equitable financial contributions and ambitious and binding national actions (in the NDCs) to reduce GHG.”
Andrea Koehle Jones, Executive Director, The ChariTree Foundation: “We welcome the implementation of the ‘loss and damage’ fund at COP28 as an important step forward. However, the failure to clearly signal the timely phaseout of all fossil fuels means children everywhere will face more extreme climate events, loss and damage.”
Peg Putt, Co-Coordinator, Biomass Action Network (EPN): “While tripling renewable energy is an important step, this outcome is undermined by the inclusion of big biomass energy, which emits at least as much carbon as coal per unit of energy produced whilst also threatening communities and forests around the world. We can’t afford dangerous distractions like biomass as we move away from fossil fuels. Countries must now step up and make sure that big biomass energy is not part of their renewable energy mix.”
