For the first time since nations began meeting to combat climate change three decades ago, diplomats from nearly 200 countries agreed to a global pact that explicitly calls for the “abandonment of fossil fuels” such as oil, gas and coal that fuel the Planets are heating dangerously.
The comprehensive agreement, which comes in the hottest year in history, was reached on Wednesday after two weeks of heated debate at the United Nations climate summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. European leaders and many of the nations most affected by climate-related extreme weather events pushed for language calling for a complete “phase-out” of fossil fuels. However, this proposal faced strong opposition from major oil exporters such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq, as well as fast-growing countries such as India and Nigeria.
In the end, negotiators agreed on a compromise: The new agreement calls for countries to accelerate the global transition away from fossil fuels in a “fair, orderly and equitable manner” this decade and to fully stop releasing carbon dioxide by mid-century into the atmosphere to stop. It also calls on nations to triple the amount of renewable energy installed worldwide, such as wind and solar, by 2030 and to reduce emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
While previous U.N. climate agreements urged countries to reduce their emissions, they shied away from specifically mentioning the term “fossil fuels,” even though the burning of oil, gas and coal is the leading cause of global warming.
The new agreement is not legally binding and cannot force any country to act on its own. Still, many politicians, environmentalists and business leaders here hoped it would signal to investors and policymakers that this was the beginning of the end for fossil fuels. Over the next two years, each country is expected to submit a detailed, formal plan on how it will curb greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. Wednesday's agreement is intended to serve as a guideline for these plans.
“This is a clear signal that the world is committed to phasing out fossil fuels, increasing renewable energy and efficiency, and combating forest loss and degradation,” said Jake Schmidt, senior strategic director of the Natural Resources Defense Council , an environmental group. “It puts the fossil fuel industry officially on notice that their old business model is being phased out.”
The deal represents a diplomatic victory for the United Arab Emirates, the oil-rich country that hosted these talks at a sprawling Dubai exhibition center under hazy skies just 11 miles from the world's largest natural gas power plant. Sultan Al Jaber, the Emirati official and oil executive who led the talks, has called a phase-out of fossil fuels “inevitable” and has staked his reputation on persuading other oil nations to sign a major new climate deal.
“All night and early hours of the morning we worked together to reach a consensus,” Mr. Al Jaber told a room full of applauding negotiators on Wednesday morning. “I promised to roll up my sleeves. We have the foundation to create transformative change.”
It remains to be seen whether the countries will comply with the agreement. Scientists say nations will need to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by about 43 percent this decade if they want to limit overall global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, compared to previous levels. Beyond that level, scientists say, people will struggle to adapt to rising sea levels, wildfires, extreme storms and droughts.
Previous climate agreements have often failed to promote meaningful action. In 2021, nations in Glasgow agreed to “phase out” coal-fired power plants. But just a year later, Britain approved a new coal mine, and since then global coal consumption has risen to record highs.
As misty-eyed diplomats in Dubai debated in all-night meetings over the precise language they should use to recommend new action on climate change, they were forced to look in greater detail than ever before at the challenges of a global transition away from fossil fuels to deal with.
Saudi Arabia and oil and gas companies said talks should focus on emissions rather than fossil fuels themselves, arguing that technologies such as carbon capture and storage could capture and bury greenhouse gases from oil and gas and enable their continued use. Until now, nations have struggled to deploy this technology on a large scale.
But other leaders countered that the best way to reduce emissions was to switch to cleaner forms of energy such as solar, wind or nuclear, and to reserve carbon capture for rare situations where no alternatives were available . The final text calls on nations to accelerate carbon capture, “particularly in sectors where it is difficult to reduce carbon emissions.” Some negotiators expressed concern that fossil fuel companies could take advantage of this language to continue emitting high levels of emissions while promising to capture emissions later.
Many African countries strongly rejected a blanket call for a phase-out of fossil fuels, arguing that Africa was responsible for only a tiny fraction of emissions and should be allowed to exploit its own significant oil and gas reserves to stimulate its economy, before switching to cleaner forms of energy.
“Asking Nigeria or even Africa to phase out fossil fuels is like asking us to stop breathing without life support,” said Ishaq Salako, Nigeria’s environment minister. “It’s not acceptable and it’s not possible.”
Some climate activists criticized wealthier emitters such as the United States, Europe and Japan for not providing enough financial support to low-income countries to help them transition away from fossil fuels. In countries such as Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia, many countries are facing rising interest rates, making it difficult to finance new renewable energy projects.
The new agreement highlights the role of finance, but countries agreed to address the issue in more detail at the next round of climate negotiations next year in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“The text calls for a transition away from fossil fuels in this critical decade, but the transition is neither funded nor fair,” said Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, an environmental group. “We still lack enough money to help developing countries decarbonize, and there needs to be greater expectations of rich fossil fuel producers to get out first.”
Max Bearak, Lisa Friedman, Somini Sengupta and Jenny Gross contributed reporting from Dubai.