Dubai, December 11 – Minutes ago, the UNFCCC published the latest draft of the Global Stocktake, which countries will negotiate into the final hours of the UN climate talks in Dubai, and be the defining agreement of COP28.
Romain Ioualalen, Oil Change International Global Policy lead said:
“The latest GST draft is an incoherent and dangerous list of weak measures completely divorced from what is needed to limit warming to 1.5°C. In contrast, the science is very clear: a full, fast, fair, and funded phaseout of all fossil fuels is essential to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
“We need a fossil fuel phaseout, not an optional “reduction” in fossil fuels, and certainly not a massive deployment of failed “abatement” technologies such as CCS that exist only as a lifeline for the oil and gas industry. References to so-called “low carbon fuels” used beyond mid-century are coded language for promoting fossil gas far into the future.
“The Presidency, in trying to appease a tiny minority of blockers seeking to prolong the fossil fuel era despite the devastating consequences, has produced substantially weaker text that must be significantly improved to be in line with science, finance, and equity.
“We call on Ministers and diplomats to remember what is at stake: the future of billions of people and the fate of entire nations, whose future depends on clear and coherent policies to phase out fossil fuel production and use.”
Bronwen Tucker, Oil Change International Public Finance lead said:
“Securing a fossil fuel phase out relies on rich countries’ willingness to move fastest and pay their fair share. We need to see new concrete commitments on equity and finance from rich countries, but the new draft energy package merely repeats existing ambitions on these issues.”