The 28th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that held for two weeks in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) officially ended on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, with the adoption of “The UAE Consensus” and a commitment to transition away from fossil fuels to achieve net zero.
Observers believe however that the fate of the world’s most vulnerable states and nations has come with the language that prequels the phasing away from fossil fuels.
Even though they see this as a victory, the commitment towards a just and equitable society, they add, is missing the public funds and technical support to ensure its rapid implementation.
Amos Wemanya, Senior Advisor, Powershift Africa, Kenya, said: “The COP28 energy package does well in tripling renewable energy capacity globally by 2030. However, it does not explicitly link tripling renewables to financing, especially for developing countries. It is historic that the transition from fossil fuel gets into a COP outcome for the first time ever. The veil has finally been torn off fossil fuels. This forms a foundation for a fossil fuel end date.
“Moving forward, mechanisms must be established to fund the transition, especially for developing countries. The speed and scale of transition for developing countries will be determined by the support provided. International cooperation and support will be important.”
Ina Maria Shikongo, Environmental Activist, Namibia, said: “It’s important to celebrate small victories like the mentioning of fossil fuels in the final text, and that’s still not enough as there are many loopholes still that will allow continuous extraction and more loss and damage, which is detrimental to communities already living on the frontline of the climate crisis. Politics is used to making empty promises for the satisfaction of public opinion and could this be the case.
“Phase-out of fossil fuels is what is needed with a targeted timeline. What’s the point of filling the loss and damage finance facility if extraction is likely to continue for the next decades? More extraction, more loss and damage. It’s time to prioritise communities and biodiversity over profits. Phasing out is a Human rights issue.”
Landry Ninteretse, Regional Director, 350Africa.org, Burundi, said: “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 energised 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.”
Fadhel Kaboub, Senior Advisor, Powershift Africa, Tunisia, said: “We are making some progress on transforming the global tax architecture thanks to a recent Global South victory at the United Nations General Assembly, voting overwhelmingly for a UN Tax Convention. We are also finally having a serious discussion about transforming the global financial architecture. At COP28, Colombia, Kenya, and France announced the establishment of an independent expert review on debt, nature and climate.
“The expert group will examine how sovereign debt limits the fiscal space needed to take climate action, decarbonise the economy, and protect nature. This is, of course, a promising initiative to help redesign the global economic architecture.”
Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Nigeria, said: “Finally, the COP grudgingly acknowledges that there must be a “transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems. This is a major step, but the COP has not set concrete pathways and deadlines for this to happen. The COP still refuses to understand that fossil fuels are also a big climate issue in areas other than energy. The stubborn continued dependence on fossil fuels is based on the mythological conviction of the permanence of the petroleum civilisation.
“The COP must recognise that the time has come to halt the expansion of sacrifice zones, recognise the real burden of climate debt and call for the fossilisation of fossil fuels to give the planet and all beings on it a much needed sabbath. False solutions such as carbon markets, carbon capture/storage and other geoengineering modes will merely compound the looming climate chaos.”
David Manley, Lead Analyst (Energy Transition), Natural Resource Governance Institute, said: “This agreement shows the international community is ready to attack the climate crisis head-on, offering hope for the millions of people already suffering the brunt of ravaging climate impacts. The COP28 decision signals that fossil fuels have reached a tipping point, and the bets that state oil companies in sub-Saharan Africa have made on further production are now even riskier. Our research suggests that the national oil companies in the region are projected to invest $35 billion, which is incompatible with the Paris Agreement objective.
“Now is the time for governments and state oil companies to seriously reassess their investments. An equitable global shift away from fossil fuels now rests on wealthy countries, who must lead on delivering phaseout and provide the finance necessary to unlock energy transitions in African countries that are highly dependent on fossil fuel production for export revenues, jobs and energy security,”
