Cop28 – LIVE: Fossil fuel days ‘are numbered’ as countries agree to ‘historic’ deal marking end of oil era

The Cop28climate summit on Wednesday approved a “historic” deal that would, for the first time, push nations to transition away from fossil fuels to avert the worst effects of climate change.

For the first time this deal, known as the Global Stocktake Agreement, directly addresses the use of fossil fuels, a key demand from many countries at this year’s talks.

It calls on countries to “transition away” from fossil fuels “in this critical decade”- a move which Irish transport minister Eamon Ryan has called “historic” though admitted it was not “perfect”.

He said: “It’s not the perfect text and there are ways we would do it better and differently. But by getting this agreement, it gives us the opportunity to take the next steps we need to make.”

Chairman of the Environmental Audit Committee Philip Dunne said: “The penny has dropped at Cop and all nations have agreed to move away from fossil fuels and to phase down the use of unabated coal power.

“While it’s disappointing there was not agreement to phase out fossil fuels, the final agreement recognises that the days of oil, gas and coal powering global economies are numbered.”

Key Points

• The days of fossil fuel ‘are numbered’, chairman of Environmental Audit Committee says

• Cop28 summit adopts deal to transition away from fossil fuels

• Cop28 president hails climate deal as ‘historic’

• 'Incremental not transformational’, say small island states

• ‘Transition away from fossil fuels is a significant moment’

First thing countries can do to meet COP28 deal is stop unabated coal

15:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry told other countries on Wednesday the first thing they could do to meet the targets on transitioning away from fossil fuel use in the COP28 deal was to stop building new unabated coal.

“The first and easiest thing that countries need to do to make this commitment real is to stop building new unabated coal, and we will continue to fight for that,” he told a news conference.

At the news conference, China’s top climate envoy Xie Zhenhua said there were times during the talks in Dubai seemed to be faltering and that the U.S. and China then stepped in with joint proposals to get the negotiations moving again.

‘António Guterres’ message to fossil fuel phase out opposers

14:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

UN secretary general António Guterres said “fossil fuel phase out is inevitable” in a tweet on X today.

He posted on X: “To those who opposed a clear reference to phase out of fossil fuels during the #COP28 Climate Conference, I want to say: Whether you like it or not, fossil fuel phase out is inevitable. Let’s hope it doesn’t come too late.”

Saudi energy minister in agreement with COP28 presidency on final deal

14:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Wednesday he was in agreement with the COP28 presidency on the final deal and that it would not affect the kingdom’s hydrocarbon exports.

“The text, it provides alternatives. But I think these texts do not affect our exports, do not affect our ability to sell,” Prince Abdulaziz told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television.

More than 100 countries had lobbied for strong language to “phase out” oil, gas and coal use, but faced powerful opposition from the Saudi Arabia-led oil producer group OPEC, which argued that the world can slash emissions without shunning specific fuels.

“They are mostly reaffirming our understanding of the climate change agreement, leaving countries without restrictions passed down from entities that are not party to your decision making is what is important,” he said.

The prince referred to the text of the agreement found in article 28 that stipulates that countries would transition according to their “nationally determined manner” and according to “different national circumstances, pathways and approaches.”

He also thanked the United Arab Emirates, which hosted the U.N. climate summit this year, saying there was full cooperation and coordination between the two countries throughout.

“I say there was a perfect cooperation between us, they did not leave us, we were always constantly coordinating and consulting, and we were given priority that I don’t think I have ever seen it in any such conference,” the prince said.

Sources had told Reuters UAE had come under pressure from Saudi Arabia to drop any mention of fossil fuels from the text.

Cop28 delegates agree to ‘transition away’ from fossil fuels

14:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Delegates have agreed to “transition away” from fossil fuels for the first time at the Cop28 climate talks in Dubai.

Language in the agreement was strengthened after widespread anger at a draft in which it suggested that countries “could” reduce fossil fuels but left too many holes for many nations to live with.

Sultan al-Jaber, the Cop28 President, said the delegates had gone down “a long road in a short amount of time”.

Cop28 delegates agree to ‘transition away’ from fossil fuels

Irish transport minister calls Cop28 agreement ‘historic’ but ‘not perfect’

13:35 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Irish transport minister Eamon Ryan has said the deal struck at the Cop28 climate conference to “transition away” from fossil fuels is “historic”.

Mr Ryan, who is Ireland’s Green Party leader and a lead EU negotiator on climate finance, said it is not “perfect”, but that if the package had not been delivered it “would have been a critically sad and difficult” day for the world.

He said a previous text, which he had called “unacceptable”, was not based on “meeting the science” and it changed throughout the day on Tuesday and overnight.

Irish transport minister calls Cop28 agreement ‘historic’ but ‘not perfect’

Cop28 concludes with historic deal marking ‘beginning of the end’ for fossil fuel era

13:15 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The Cop28 global climate summit has reached a historic deal on fossil fuels, hailed by the United Nations as “the beginning of the end for the fossil fuel era”.

The “Global Stocktake Agreement” (GST) was adopted within minutes of the final plenary opening on Wednesday morning in Dubai. It followed more than 24 hours of fraught negotiations between countries, and few updates.

Delegates from around the world rose to their feet, clapping and hugging each other, after the UAE’s Cop28 president Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber banged the gavel.

Cop28 reaches historic deal marking ‘beginning of end’ for fossil fuel era

Greens call for more action after COP28 deal fails to deliver change needed

12:50 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer called for urgent action from the UK government to go beyond the compromise deal agreed at this year’s COP climate summit in Dubai.

Ms Denyer said: “Without sustained government action following this disappointing COP28, the world is heading for a hellish future. We need to press our ambitions with a renewed vigour.

“The fact that UK climate change minister, Graham Stuart, returned to London to vote on the Rwanda Bill just as the hardest part of the negotiations got underway tells the world this Conservative government just doesn’t care.

“This is the price we pay for government chaos at home - being sidelined at the most crucial moment in the COP28 negotiations.

“COP agreed a ‘transition’ away from fossil fuels that falls far short of the fair phase out that is needed. It offers market solutions that will leave behind the poorest countries and bolster the Petro-states.

“Despite this disappointing result, we can still achieve an outcome that avoids the worst of the climate emergency while also creating safer streets, cleaner air, warmer homes, more jobs in renewable energy and support for our farmers to produce more food locally.”

New, stronger climate proposal released at COP28, but doesn't quite call for fossil fuel phase-out

12:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A somewhat stronger and revamped proposal that calls for an eventual end to fossil fuel use was presented early Wednesday to negotiators at the United Nations climate summit known as COP28, after the conference presidency’s initial document angered many countries by avoiding decisive calls for action on curbing warming.

The new compromise doesn’t specifically use the language of calling for a “phase-out” of fossil fuels, which more than 100 nations had pleaded for. Instead, it calls for “transitioning away from fossil fuels” in a way that gets the world to net zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2050, with extra urgency for emission-slashing this decade. It calls on the world to peak its ever-growing carbon pollution by the year 2025.

New, stronger climate proposal released at COP28, but doesn't quite call for fossil fuel phase-out

UK climate minister claims UK ‘central’ to Cop28 despite absence on final evening

12:01 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

UK climate minister Graham Stuart has denied that his temporary absence from the Cop28 negotiations during its most critical stage meant the country was not playing a major part in the talks.

Mr Stuart had flown the 6,800-mile round trip to help push through the Government’s Safety of Rwanda Bill in the House of Commons, which many Tory MPs had threatened to derail.

He arrived back in Dubai in time for the final agreement to be approved, which he hailed as an “historic moment”.

Numerous NGOs and scientists have poured scorn on the minister for making the journey in what they see as putting the immediate needs of the Prime Minister ahead of humanity’s global future, while adding to the carbon emissions the talks are aiming to reduce.

Speaking to BBC News in Dubai, Mr Stuart said: “The UK has, as ever in this space, been absolutely central to the outcomes and the most notable outcome of all, which is this global stocktake text.

“I was awake for a number of hours in constant contact with my team and of course my very able colleague, Lord Benyon, was here as well.

“So we were here fully on the ground, fully in touch and all decisions came through me and I’m just delighted with the contribution the UK has been able to make to what is an historic agreement today.”

Saudi energy minister: in agreement with COP28 presidency on final deal

11:51 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Wednesday he was in agreement with the COP28 presidency on the final deal and that it would not affect the kingdom’s hydrocarbon exports.

“The text, it provides alternatives. But I think these texts do not affect our exports, do not affect our ability to sell,” Prince Abdulaziz told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television.

He also thanked the United Arab Emirates, which hosted the U.N. climate summit this year, saying there was full cooperation and coordination between the two countries throughout.

Cop28 has pledged billions in climate change funds – but it barely scratches the surface

11:23 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Small islands are already disappearing underwater and evidence shows climate finance is nowhere near enough to save them, reports Nick Ferris from Cop28 in Dubai. Despite one big breakthrough on money for poorer nations, global finances need to be transformed to hit our climate goals:

When panic-buying hit the UK in March 2020, it was a rare moment: a curious knock-on effect of the emerging Covid pandemic.

For residents of small-island states, however, the growing terror that hurricane season brings means that panic buying is now part of life. Climate change means more regular and more violent storms, leading to unmanageable economic losses for residents of islands that are typically developing countries.

Why Cop28 barely scratches the surface on the cost of climate change

11:10 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Cop28 leaders clap as nations agree deal to ‘transition away’ from fossil fuels

‘We have built a canoe with a weak and leaky hull, full of holes’- more reaction from Cop28 deal

10:56 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Canadian Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault: “COP28 reached a historic agreement ... It provides opportunities for near term action and pushes for a secure, affordable, 1.5C compatible and clean transition. The text has breakthrough commitments on renewable energy, energy efficiency, and the transition away from fossil fuels.”

China’s vice environment minister, Zhao Yingmin: “Developed countries have unshirkable historical responsibilities for climate change.”

Marshall Islands’ head of delegation, John Silk: “I came here from my home in the islands to work with you all to solve the greatest challenge of our generation. I came here to build a canoe together for my country. Instead we have built a canoe with a weak and leaky hull, full of holes. Instead we have put it in the water.”

Singapore’s environment minister, Grace Fu: “I think we have to take the outcome as part of a deal that has been negotiated all round.”

“Very often in a negotiation, parties are too hunkered down in their respective positions. And words like ‘phase out’ became a problem. ... The important part is to look at the content and the intentions.”

Here are some reactions to the deal:

10:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

U.S. special climate envoy John Kerry: “I am in awe of the spirit of cooperation that has brought everybody together.”

Denmark’s Minister for Climate and Energy Dan Jorgensen: “We’re standing here in an oil country, surrounded by oil countries, and we made the decision saying let’s move away from oil and gas.”

Samoa representative Anne Rasmussen on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States: “We didn’t want to interrupt the standing ovation when we came into the room, but we are a little confused about what happened. It seems that you just get on with the decisions and the small island developing states were not in the room.”

“We have come to the conclusion that the course correction that is needed has not been secured. We have made an incremental advancement over business as usual, when what we really need is an exponential step change in our actions.”

The days of fossil fuel ‘are numbered’, chairman of Environmental Audit Committee says

10:23 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Chairman of the Environmental Audit Committee Philip Dunne has said the days of fossil fuel “are numbered” after Cop28 delegates agrees to decarbonise the world economy.

He said: “The penny has dropped at Cop and all nations have agreed to move away from fossil fuels and to phase down the use of unabated coal power.

“While it’s disappointing there was not agreement to phase out fossil fuels, the final agreement recognises that the days of oil, gas and coal powering global economies are numbered. The world has agreed to transition to a decarbonised global economy.

“As the Committee made clear in its report on accelerating the transition from fossil fuels, the UK must approach the low-carbon future with enthusiasm and unwavering commitment.

“By switching off fossil fuels at the current time we risk energy instability, so every effort must now be made to find reliable low-carbon energy and effective energy storage to keep the lights on throughout the year.

“This is critical for the UK to do its part in keeping global temperatures below 1.5C.”

COP28 deal provides ‘menu’ for every country to follow

10:09 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The deal struck by nations at the U.N. climate summit COP28 is agreeable because it provides a “menu” for every country to follow its own pathway to the energy transition, a source familiar with Saudi thinking told Reuters on Wednesday.

The deal provides a bottom-up approach in line with the Paris agreement, the source said.

Cop28 concludes with historic deal marking ‘beginning of the end’ for fossil fuel era

09:35 , Namita Singh

The Cop28 global climate summit has reached a historic deal on fossil fuels, hailed by the UN as marking “the beginning of the end for the fossil fuel era”.

Members of the delegations from some 200 countries rose to their feet, clapping and hugging as what is known as the Global Stocktake Agreement was swiftly finalised on Wednesday just after 11am local time in Dubai.

However the final plenary was not without fireworks, reports our climate correspondent Louise Boyle from Dubai.

Cop28 reaches historic deal marking ‘beginning of end’ for fossil fuel era

‘Determined to see transition away from fossil fuels’

09:34 , Namita Singh

Greenpeace International said it is determined to see an equitable transition away from fossil fuels after the Cop28 agreement.

Kaisa Kosonen, senior political adviser at the NGO, 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 1.5C and science will necessitate, when implemented sustainably.

“And that’s what we’re determined to make happen, now more than ever.”

Cop28 deal ‘falls short of meaningful commitments’ – Friends of the Earth

09:20 , Namita Singh

“The Cop28 deal has fallen short of delivering meaningful commitments on fossil fuel phase-out and urgently needed climate finance,” says Sara Shaw, international programme coordinator at environmental organisation Friends of the Earth.

“The deal opens the door to dangerous distractions that will prevent a just and equitable energy transition– carbon capture utilisation and storage, hydrogen, nuclear, carbon removal technologies like geoengineering and schemes that commodify nature.

“And, there is nothing that would stop hundreds of millions of tonnes of offsets being considered as ‘abatement’.”

Read more about the issue here:

Too much focus on ‘fairytale solutions’ at Cop28 climate talks, warn activists

Climate action adopted ‘lifeline, not a finish line’

09:08 , Namita Singh

United Nations Climate Secretary Simon Stiell told delegates their efforts were “needed to signal a hard stop to humanity’s core climate problem: fossil fuels and that planet-burning pollution. Whilst we didn’t turn the page on the fossil fuel era in Dubai, this outcome is the beginning of the end.”

Mr Stiell cautioned people that what they adopted was a “climate action lifeline, not a finish line.

”The new deal had been floated early Wednesday and was stronger than a draft proposed days earlier, but had loopholes that upset critics. Analysts and delegates wondered if there was going to be a floor fight over details, but Cop28 host Sultan al-Jaber acted quickly, not giving critics a chance to even clear their throats.

Several minutes later, Samoa’s lead delegate Anne Rasmussen, on behalf of small island nations, complained that they weren’t even in the room when Al Jaber said the deal was done.

She said that “the course correction that is needed has not been secured,” with the deal representing business-as-usual instead of exponential emissions-cutting efforts. She said the deal could “potentially take us backward rather than forward.”

When Ms Rasmussen finished, delegates whooped, applauded and stood, as Mr Al Jaber frowned and then eventually joined the standing ovation that stretched longer than his plaudits. Marshall Islands delegates hugged and cried.

How the Cop28 agreement defied expectations

08:56 , Namita Singh

Delegates have agreed to “transition away” from fossil fuels for the first time at the Cop28 climate talks in Dubai.

Language in the agreement was strengthened after widespread anger at a draft in which it suggested that countries “could” reduce fossil fuels but left too many holes for many nations to live with.

The agreement defied the expectations of many observers who thought that the host country being a major oil exporter would be too much of a conflict of interest.

Opec, which represents oil-producing nations, had sent round a letter to its members in the final days of the negotiations urging them to reject any language that would commit them to a “phase-out” of fossil fuels.

The EU, UK and US all said they want to see stronger action that would keep the Paris Agreement of limiting global temperature rise to no more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels - what Mr al-Jaber called his “north star”.

Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, said: “For the first time in three decades of climate negotiations the words fossil fuels have 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.”

How the Cop28 agreement defied expectations

08:48 , Namita Singh

Delegates have agreed to “transition away” from fossil fuels for the first time at the Cop28 climate talks in Dubai.

Language in the agreement was strengthened after widespread anger at a draft in which it suggested that countries “could” reduce fossil fuels but left too many holes for many nations to live with.

The agreement defied the expectations of many observers who thought that the host country being a major oil exporter would be too much of a conflict of interest.

Opec, which represents oil-producing nations, had sent round a letter to its members in the final days of the negotiations urging them to reject any language that would commit them to a “phase-out” of fossil fuels.

The EU, UK and US all said they want to see stronger action that would keep the Paris Agreement of limiting global temperature rise to no more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels - what Mr al-Jaber called his “north star”.

Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, said: “For the first time in three decades of climate negotiations the words fossil fuels have 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.”

'Incremental not transformational': Small island states express concerns over agreement

08:35 , Namita Singh

Many vulnerable countries, especially the small island states which are severely threatened by rising seas, believe there are still too many loopholes in the agreement but expressed confidence that it will lead to stronger action in future.

The Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis) said in a statement that the text “is incremental and not transformational,” as they expressed concerns about the Cop28 deal.“We see a litany of loopholes in this text that are a major concern to us.”

“The draft text you have presented to us contains many good elements,” they said adding that it does not contain the “course correction” that was needed.

“We have made an incremental advancement over business as usual, when what we really needed is an exponential step change in our actions and support.”

Alliance of Small Island States

In video: Cop28 delegates applaud as countries reach deal calling for global 'transition away' from fossil fuels

08:15 , Namita Singh

Danish minister marvels at the climate deal

08:14 , Namita Singh

Expressing his amazement with the circumstances of the deal, Danish Minister for Climate and Energy Dan Jorgensen said: “We’re standing here in an oil country, surrounded by oil countries, and we made the decision saying let’s move away from oil and gas.”

The deal specifically calls for “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner ... so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science.”

It also calls for a tripling of renewable energy capacity globally by 2030, speeding up efforts to reduce coal use, and accelerating technologies such as carbon capture and storage that can clean up hard-to-decarbonize industries.

Now that the deal is struck, countries are responsible for delivering on the agreements through national policies and investments.

John Kerry: This document sends very strong messages to world

08:07 , Namita Singh

Hailing the deal at Cop28, US climate envoy John Kerry said: “This document sends very strong messages to the world.”

‘Transition away from fossil fuels is a significant moment’

07:59 , Namita Singh

Responding to the Cop28 agreement to “transition away” from fossil fuels, Manuel Pulgar-Vidal of the WWF conservation group said: “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.”

And Joab Okanda, of global poverty charity Christian Aid said: “We may not have driven the nail into the coffin here at Cop28 but the end is coming for dirty energy.

“But there is a gaping hole on finance to actually fund the transition from dirty to clean energy in developing countries. Without that, we risk the global shift being much slower.

“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.”

In pictures: ‘Historic’ agreement struck at Cop28 summit

07:51 , Namita Singh

Cop28 agreement 'historic' but needs more funding – charity

07:46 , Namita Singh

An agreement struck at Cop28 to “transition away” from fossil fuels is “historic” but could collapse without significant funding from major polluters, according to ActionAid UK.

Zahra Hdidou, senior climate and resilience adviser at ActionAid UK said: “We are relieved to see world leaders overcome their differences to reach an historic agreement on fossil fuels. While the agreement is not an even-handed one for climate-stricken countries, the importance of this moment cannot be overstated.

“After decades of fighting to push for a transition away from fossil fuels at Cop, the agreement reached in Dubai is an important first step to be built upon.

“But we should remain cautious: commitments made today will fall like a house of cards without the cash needed from major polluters to fund it and while the UK begins ‘maxing out’ its North Sea oil and gas reserves.

“As the summit ends, we should not forget that this moment was made possible by the UK and other major polluters finally listening to the voices of those on the frontlines of climate catastrophe.

“After decades of ignoring its historic responsibility as a major polluter, today is a big step forward but not the only one it needs to take. For their words to ring true, it must continue to listen to climate-affected countries and rapidly increase the finance needed to move away from fossil fuels forever.”

Cop28 president hails climate deal as ‘historic’

07:41 , Namita Singh

Cop28 president Sultan al-Jaber hailed a climate deal approved by almost 200 countries on Wednesday as an “historic package” of measures which offered a “robust plan” to keep the target of 1.5C within reach.“It is a plan that is led by the science,” Mr Al-Jaber said.

“It is an enhanced, balanced but make no mistake, a historic package to accelerate climate action. It is the UAE consensus.

“We have language on fossil fuels in our final agreement for the first time ever,” he said.

The new deal had been floated early on Wednesday after an earlier proposed version was met with a major backlash, though the new text still has loopholes that have upset critics.

The deal doesn’t go so far as to seek a “phase-out” of fossil fuels, which more than 100 nations had pleaded for. Instead, it calls for “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade.”

And activists also said there were major gaps when it comes to the wording around funding and equity between developed and developing nations.

Breaking: Cop28 summit adopts deal to transition away from fossil fuels

07:27 , Namita Singh

Representatives from nearly 200 countries agreed at the Cop28 climate summit on Wednesday to begin reducing global consumption of fossil fuels to avert the worst impacts of climate change, a first of its kind deal signaling the eventual end of the oil age.

How have Opec nations responded to calls to end fossil fuel usage?

07:10 , Namita Singh

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) secretary-general Haitham Al Ghais said in a letter dated 6 December to Opec members and allies at Cop28 that the world should target emissions rather than fossil fuels themselves, rallying them to oppose any deal targeting oil.

Opec countries together control nearly 80 per cent of the world’s proven oil reserves along with about a third of global oil production, and their governments rely heavily on the revenues.

Oil producers have argued that fossil fuels can be cleansed of their climate impact by using technology that can capture and store carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon capture, however, is expensive and has yet to be proven at scale.

Negotiators and observers in the Cop28 talks told Reuters that although Saudi Arabia has been the strongest opponent of anti-fossil fuel language in the text, other Opec and Opec+ members, including Iran, Iraq and Russia, have also resisted.

Representatives of Saudi Arabia’s delegation did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Alliance of Small Island States, which has been lobbying hard for strong language to move away from fossil fuels, said in a statement it saw loopholes in the proposed deal that “are a major concern for us”.

Other country representatives said the proposal was good enough to adopt.

“The package is not perfect, no UN text is,” said Canada environment minister Steven Guilbeault.

“But, as someone who has been in this space for more than 20 years, I see a vision we can rally around to keep 1.5C within reach and protect people and ecosystems,” Mr Guilbeault added.

Proposed Cop28 climate deal hints at looming end to fossil fuel era

07:03 , Namita Singh

The Cop28 presidency released a proposed text of a final climate deal on Wednesday that would, for the first time, push nations to transition away from fossil fuels to avert the worst effects of climate change.

The draft is meant to reflect the consensus view of nearly 200 countries gathered at the conference in Dubai, where scores of governments have insisted on strong language to signal an eventual end to the fossil fuel era - over protests from members of the oil producer group Opec and its allies.

“It is the first time that the world unites around such a clear text on the need to transition away from fossil fuels. It has been the elephant in the room. At last we address it head on,” said Norway’s foreign affairs minister Espen Barth Eide.

Brazil’s chief climate negotiator, Andre Correa Do Lago, said: “I think we should approve it”.

Proposed climate summit text described as a ‘catastrophe’ and ‘severely flawed’

06:12 , Namita Singh

Climate groups and a UK-based charity have labelled the proposed final agreement from the Cop28 UN Climate Summit a “catastrophe” and “severely flawed”.

The final agreement proposed on Wednesday, after the Dubai summit was scheduled to finish, calls for the world to wean itself off planet-warming fossil fuels, but it stops short of calling for them to be phased out.

Instead, the text calls for “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade”.

The word “oil” does not feature in the 21-page document which mentions “fossil fuels” twice.

Zahra Hdidou, senior climate and resilience adviser for ActionAid UK which works with some of the world’s poorest women, said if the text is agreed by all 198 countries on Wednesday, it would be “a catastrophe for many climate-stricken communities in the Global South and a shocking abdication of duty from major polluters”.

She said: “While there was encouraging language on ‘transitioning away’ from fossil fuels, this is undermined by vague timelines and empty promises.

“If Antonio Guterres (UN Secretary-General) said we’re on the highway to hell, then wealthy countries like the UK are about to press their foot on the accelerator. But we won’t go quietly.”

06:09 , Louise Boyle and Stuti Mishra

Good morning from inside the final plenary session (we hope!) at Cop28. It was a very late night and early morning in Dubai but there is a new draft agreement and countries are gathering to try to get it gaveled through. We will bring you the latest from the ground.

What is a ‘global stocktake?'

06:00 , Namita Singh

A key element of Cop28 is the production of the first global “stocktake,” a central element of the Paris climate agreement in which nations summarise the past 5 years in climate action and set the agenda for the next five in order to reach climate goals.

A draft of the stocktake was released on Monday, the latest step in multi-year evaluation process. So how are things looking?

“The stocktake, because it’s had this two-year process, has clearly identified the gaps,” Tom Evans, a policy advisor at the E3G climate change think tank , told Heat Map on Tuesday. “No one can deny that we’re not doing enough on finance and that adaptation is massively neglected. We’ve acknowledged that there’s been some progress on emission reductions, but it’s just an incremental push towards what’s needed. Those conclusions have a certain weight that we can draw from.”

Brazil minded to approve Cop28 climate proposal, says negotiator

05:59 , Namita Singh

Brazil is minded to approve a climate deal proposal at the Cop28 summit, the country’s chief climate negotiator, Andre Correa do Lago, said on Wednesday.

“I think we should approve it (the text),” he told Reuters.

In pictures: Scenes from Cop28 summit as negotiations spill over into extra day

05:56 , Namita Singh

Adoption of new text ‘a recognition of turning away from fossil fuels’

05:31 , Namita Singh

If the new text is adopted in the plenary session later “it will show a collective recognition that we must turn away from fossil fuels and move towards a cleaner future,” says Tom Evans, a policy adviser at climate advocacy group E3G.

“Champions for this vision - both small island states and major economies - have worked tirelessly overnight.

“However, it is clear that not everyone is ready to admit the truth of what’s needed. This text alone might help avoid disaster in Dubai but it does not avoid disaster for the planet.”

New text is ‘slight improvement but does not go far enough’

05:29 , Namita Singh

This is a compromise text, said Li Shuo, director of China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

“It is a slight improvement from the one issued two days ago, but does not go as far as the leaked version last night,” she said of the new draft.

“The overall language on coal is modest. In light of the intensifying climate impact, uniting divergent national interests for decisive climate response remains a daunting task.”

Developed countries ‘have to walk the talk’

05:14 , Namita Singh

Developed countries portraying themselves as climate champions have to walk the talk to rapidly phase out fossil fuel production and consumption on an urgent basis, says Meena Raman, head of programmes for climate advocacy group, Third World Network.

Reminding them of their historic responsibility, she said that these countries “are already bursting the carbon budget for limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degree C with their unjust emission reduction targets, and hollow net zero pledges which symbolize carbon colonialism, as they also increase fossil fuel expansion in their countries.

“It is time to stop charade and pretense.”

US and Global North ‘guaranteeing continuation of fossil fuel era’

04:47 , Namita Singh

Some climate activists are unhappy with the latest draft Cop28 text, with growing criticism of the portions of the agreement relating to funding for poorer countries and equity – the idea that developed countries should take more climate action now because they have benefitted from greater amounts of historic emissions.

“The US, joined by other Global North governments and Big Polluters, seems to have forgotten that this is not a game,” said Rachel Rose Jackson from Corporate Accountability, an activist group that is part of the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition.

“The climate crisis is a reality where the stakes are life and death. Death not just for a few, but for millions of people. We cannot allow the UN climate talks to become a poker table where people’s lives are traded like chips while the polluting elite go all in on fossil fuels,” she said.

Highlighting that the Cop summit was flooded by more than 2,400 fossil fuel lobbyists and overseen by a fossil fuel executive, she says that while the proposed text contains some keywords, “on closer inspection [it] is littered with their polluting rubbish, false solutions, and dangerous distractions that guarantee the continuation of the fossil fuel era”.

“The United States, UK, EU, Norway, and others self-proclaim themselves climate ‘champions’, but yet again are twisting the outcomes of these talks so they don’t have to wean themselves off their fossil fuel addiction.”

She accused countries of bullying and blocking efforts to deliver the public finance, technology, and capacity that is actually needed to “deliver a just fossil fuel phase-out, and are yet again orchestrating their great escape from having to do their fair share by ripping equity out of the text.”

New text sends signal to ‘turn away from fossil fuels toward clean energy’

04:39 , Namita Singh

“The latest Global Stocktake text sends a strong signal that world leaders recognize 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,” said a statement by Dr Rachel Cleetus, the policy director and a lead economist for the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

“The finance and equity provisions, however, are seriously insufficient and must be improved in the time ahead in order to ensure low- and middle-income countries can transition to clean energy and close the energy poverty gap.”

UK climate minister leaves Cop28 as talks reach critical point

04:30 , Namita Singh

The UK climate minister Graham Stuart has left the Cop28 climate negotiations at a critical moment to fly thousands of miles back to parliament for a crunch vote on the government’s controversial plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.

A spokesperson for prime minister Rishi Sunak said that Mr Stuart would return to Dubai after the vote, a round-trip of more than 6,000 miles.

Mr Stuart was the ministerial head of the delegation at the Dubai summit, where nations are in a stand-off over the future of fossil fuels. Climate groups called the decision a “slap in the face” as countries try and agree on a final deal, reports our climate correspondent Louise Boyle from the Cop28 summit in Dubai.

UK climate minister leaves Cop28 summit as talks reach critical point

Draft deal a ‘step forward... but not the historic decision we hoped for'

04:26 , Namita Singh

Climate crisis advocacy groups are giving measured reactions to the newly proposed text.

“This text is a step forward on our path towards phasing out fossil fuels, but is not the historic decision we hoped for,” said Andreas Sieber, associate director of policy and campaigns for advocacy group 350.org.

Andreas Sieber

Norway welcomes final proposal for Cop28 deal

04:24 , Namita Singh

Norway was among the first countries to welcome the UN’s final proposal for the Cop28 deal.

Responding to the text demanding nations “transition away” from fossil fuels this decade, the country’s minister for climate and the environment, Espen Barth Eide, said: “It is the first time that the world unites around such a clear text on the need to transition away from fossil fuels. It has been the elephant in the room, at last we address it head on. This is the outcome of extremely many conversations and intense diplomacy.”

Draft text of historic Cop28 deal calls for ‘transitioning away from fossil fuels’

04:14 , Namita Singh

A new draft of the Cop28 climate deal was released early on Wednesday morning after negotiators wrangled overnight to find a consensus on the language over fossil fuels.

The new text directly addresses fossil fuels, a key demand from this year’s climate deal, asking parties to “transition away” from their use “in this critical decade”.

The draft document, which is a proposal created by the presidency after discussions with all countries before a deal is signed, gives an indication of what parties have agreed upon.

Here are some of the highlights from the draft text:

Latest Cop28 draft calls for ‘transition’ from fossil fuels

‘Sorely needed improvement’: Reactions coming in to draft text of deal

04:13 , Namita Singh

Stephen Cornelius, WWF’s deputy global climate and energy lead, said the new text was “a sorely needed improvement from the last version, which rightly caused outrage”.

“If this text is agreed by countries, it would represent a significant moment. For decades UN climate talks have failed to address fuels driving the climate crisis. This cannot be the benchmark by which we judge the outcome of this Cop,” he said.

“Countries must use these final hours to push for an even more ambitious text that is fully aligned with preventing the most devastating consequences of the climate crisis.”

Climate expert to delegates: ‘Please do not shut down this COP'

04:00 , Josh Marcus

Climate experts are pushing negotiators to keep working through the COP process until they can reach an agreement, even though they’ve blown through their previously set deadlines for a deal.

As nations spar over language on whether to phase out fossil fuels, or merely reduce consumption and production, Rachel Cleetus, policy director of the climate and energy programme at the Union of Concerned Scientists, urged delegates to keep working at the problem.

“Please do not shut down this COP before we get the job done,” she told The Associated Press.

Proposed Cop28 climate deal calls for 'transitioning away from fossil fuels'

03:33 , Namita Singh

The Cop28 presidency released a proposed text of a final climate deal on Wednesday that would, for the first time, push nations to transition away from fossil fuels to avert the worst impacts of climate change.

The draft is meant to reflect the consensus view of nearly 200 countries gathered at the conference in Dubai, where scores of governments have insisted on strong language to signal an eventual end to the fossil fuel era - against protests from members of the oil producer group Opec and its allies.

The draft deal would specifically call for “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner ... so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science.”

Country representatives have been called to what the Cop28 presidency hopes is a final meeting later on Wednesday morning, where they could pass the deal and end two weeks of tough negotiations that have run a day into overtime.

Deals struck at UN climate summits must be passed by consensus, at which point individual countries are responsible for delivering on the agreements through national policies and investments.

If adopted, it would mark the first time in three decades of Cop climate summits that nations agree on a concerted move away from oil, gas and coal - products that currently account for around 80 per cent of global energy.

Why Cop28 barely scratches the surface

03:30 , Namita Singh

Small islands are already disappearing underwater and evidence shows climate finance is nowhere near enough to save them, reports Nick Ferris from Cop28 in Dubai.

Despite one big breakthrough on money for poorer nations, global finances need to be transformed to hit our climate goals.

Why Cop28 barely scratches the surface on the cost of climate change

Battle to save Cop28 climate deal in stand off over ending use of fossil fuels

03:03 , Namita Singh

A battle over the future of fossil fuels has pushed the Cop28 climate summit into overtime – thanks to a stand-off between nations who want a dramatic phase-out of the burning of oil, gas and coal and those that don’t.

There were fraught talks late into the night on Tuesday with the summit having been due to officially end in the morning, to pull together a new draft deal that all nations could agree on – with the wording of a previous draft having been panned by a number of delegates.

Calling time on the fossil-fuel era has emerged as the central fight of the Dubai negotiations – as nations scramble to keep the goal of limiting average global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels within reach, and with 2023 set to be the hottest year humans have ever experienced.

More in this report from Louise Boyle and Stuti Mishra:

Battle to save Cop28 climate deal in stand off over ending use of fossil fuels

Behind the scenes at Cop28 with a nation whose survival is on the line

02:45 , Namita Singh

Our climate correspondent Louise Boyle spends a day at the global climate summit with Tina Stege, climate envoy for the Marshall Islands, who came to Dubai with a very important mission.

Read on:

Behind the scenes at Cop28 with a negotiator whose nation’s survival is on the line

On oil, US senator says American ‘can’t preach temperance from a bar stool'

02:00 , Josh Marcus

As COP lumbered into overtime without nations reaching a resolution, one prominent environmental leader said the US also deserves its share of the blame for stalled action on the climate.

US Senator Ed Markey, a key backer of proposals for a Green New Deal, said Tuesday after returning from Dubai that the US’s continued production and consumption of fossil fuels is a major climate hurdle.

“At COP28, I called for a negotiated outcome that will send a clear signal to phase out fossil fuel consumption and production. But the United States can’t preach temperance from a bar stool, and right now, America is drunk on oil and gas production and exports,” he wrote in a statement.

“Unfortunately, we are not alone at the bar. OPEC and its cronies are wielding their influence over the negotiations to keep the fossil fuel spigot open. COP is at risk of being known as the Conference of Oil Pushers. It is more important than ever that the U.S. effectively leads on a clean energy future. We must build on the success of the Inflation Reduction Act, end approvals of new infrastructure for fossil fuels of the past, and keep our promise to end public financing of international unabated fossil fuel projects. It’s time to close the oil-soaked tab and invest in a clean energy future.”

Portugal ran on renewable energy for six days – could the UK ever do the same?

00:00 , Tara Cobham

When it comes to energy, all eyes are focused on one place: Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, where nearly 100,000 delegates are attending Cop28, the world’s biggest-ever climate conference.

The biggest single question that the great and the good are grappling with is how to cut our use of polluting fossil fuels, which we all rely on but which threaten to create irreversible damage to our natural environment.

But for all the hot air expended in conference halls – and the air miles racked up getting to Dubai – delegates might instead want to look 3,750 miles west of the Cop conference hall… to Portugal.

Chris Stokel-Walker reports:

Portugal ran on renewables for six days – could UK ever do the same?

Why Cop28 barely scratches the surface on the cost of climate change

Tuesday 12 December 2023 23:00 , Tara Cobham

When panic-buying hit the UK in March 2020, it was a rare moment: a curious knock-on effect of the emerging Covid pandemic.

For residents of small-island states, however, the growing terror that hurricane season brings means that panic buying is now part of life. Climate change means more regular and more violent storms, leading to unmanageable economic losses for residents of islands that are typically developing countries.

“I dread hurricane season each year because of how much disposable income we – and particularly poorer people – have to spend on supplies in case the storm is bad,” said Michai Robertson, from the Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, in an interview with The Independent. “The situation is worsening as the storms are getting noticeably worse, and more intense. The rains now are crazy; It is very different to how it was when I was a child.”

Nick Ferris reports:

Why Cop28 barely scratches the surface on the cost of climate change

Climate talks continue past midnight on second day

Tuesday 12 December 2023 22:00 , Tara Cobham

Negotiators continued to struggle to find common ground over the language of the final deal on Wednesday as talks continued past midnight for the second day in Dubai.

The climate summit is already overrunning by 14 hours and more negotiations were expected in the morning before a final decision can be made on critical issues like fossil fuel phase out among others.

But even as shops began to shut down and halls get empty, there is no end in sight for the climate summit.

Metro and shuttle services were extended post midnight for both Wednesday and Thursday. Participants were informed that their badges and visas, which were issued with an expiry date of 12 December, are all valid for the extended time of the summit.

Behind the scenes at Cop28 with a negotiator whose nation’s survival is on the line

Tuesday 12 December 2023 20:58 , Tara Cobham

It’s 6.45am, and the first rays are filtering through the morning smog, the sign of another scorching day in Dubai.

Tina Stege, climate envoy for the Marshall Islands, is on the metro headed for the Cop28 climate summit, and in desperate need of a cup of tea. Last night she left Expo City, where the two-week event is being held, after 9pm.

“It’s a lot of late nights and early mornings,” she told The Independent.

Louise Boyle reports:

Behind the scenes at Cop28 with a negotiator whose nation’s survival is on the line

Omani negotiator explains oil producer countries opposing language targeting fossil fuels

Tuesday 12 December 2023 19:54 , Tara Cobham

Omani negotiator Said Hamed Al Sarmi explained the position of some oil producer countries opposing language that targets fossil fuels in the final text.

"We feel it’s our right to grow and to have a share of the remaining carbon budget," he said. "In the Paris agreement, there is no mention of targeting the sources, we are targeting the emissions. The region, the countries here, are working so hard to gain the technology to reduce the emissions."

There will likely be a deal during night, says Brazil’s chief negotiator

Tuesday 12 December 2023 19:22 , Tara Cobham

Brazil’s chief negotiator Andre Correa do Lago told reporters there would likely be a deal during the night.

He said the issues of raising ambition and finance were still open and many more meetings were scheduled before a deal is finalized.