COP28, the 28th Conference of Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, wrapped up in Dubai on December 12, 2023 with a decision that explicitly addresses fossil fuels. The wording is somewhat squishy, calling for member parties to “transition away” from fossil fuels in a “just, orderly and equitable manner,” and to quit adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere entirely by midcentury. Other than the net zero pledge by 2050, which is already in the Paris Agreement, the COP28 agreement does not set specific emissions goals for 2030. “Scientists say that nations would need to slash their greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 43 percent this decade if they hope to limit total global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius…Yet global fossil-fuel emissions soared to record highs this year, nations are currently on track to cut that pollution by less than 10 percent this decade.” (NY Times December 12, 2023)
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