Earth Science News
CLIMATE SCIENCE
UN climate talks chief pushes for rapid draft deal
UN climate talks chief pushes for rapid draft deal
By Laurent Thomet and Benjamin Legendre
Dubai (AFP) Dec 8, 2023

The head of the UN climate summit pressed nations Friday to strike a deal as talks resumed after a break, with only four days left for negotiators to iron out differences over the fate of fossil fuels.

While UN climate talks rarely finish on time, COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber has set the ambitious goal of wrapping up the conference in Dubai on schedule at 11 am (0700 GMT) on Tuesday.

With ministers now in town to carry a deal across the line, Jaber said he wanted negotiators to produce a new draft deal on Friday.

Despite disagreements over the future of fossil fuels, Jaber voiced optimism that the talks hosted by the oil-rich United Arab Emirates can finish with a historic agreement.

"We have the potential to deliver a paradigm shift," he said Friday after delegations from nearly 200 nations took a breather the day before.

- 'Get the job done' -

"Let us please get this job done. I need you to step up and I need you to come out of your comfort zones," he said.

Climate campaigners have viewed Jaber with deep suspicion due to his position as the head of UAE national oil firm ADNOC, but he has sought to assure sceptics by stating that a phase down of fossil fuels was "inevitable".

COP28 kicked off last week with the landmark launch of a loss and damage fund for nations devastated by climate change.

"We have surprised the doubters and inspired the optimists," Jaber said.

- The options -

A handful of countries, including oil-rich Saudi Arabia and major crude consumer China, have resisted the inclusion of language on a phase-out of fossil fuels in the final text so far.

A draft deal was released on Tuesday but negotiators failed to produce another text on Wednesday before heading into the break.

Tuesday's document contains three options on fossil fuels.

The first calls for an "orderly and just" exit from hydrocarbons, and the second that countries must accelerate efforts towards the phase-out of "unabated" fossil fuels -- those whose emissions cannot be captured -- and "rapidly" reduce their use to achieve net-zero CO2 in energy systems by around 2050.

US climate envoy John Kerry repeated on Wednesday that carbon capture technology was key to efforts to phase out fossil fuels -- a hint that Washington might be leaning towards the second option.

The third and most controversial option effectively proposes not addressing the issue at all.

A negotiator from the pro-phase-out camp said a "coalition is there" for a fossil fuel exit, but that the two opposing camps had yet to go head-to-head in talks.

Scientists warn that greenhouse gas emissions -- the bulk of which come from burning fossil fuels -- must fall by 43 percent by 2030 from 2019 levels for the world to reach the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

- Saudi position -

Saudi Arabia has been the most vocal nation against a phase-out or even a phase-down of fossil fuels.

"As one of the largest producers of hydrocarbons, they refuse to have a solution imposed upon them," Umar Karim, an expert on Saudi politics at the University of Birmingham, told AFP.

Kristian Ulrichsen, a Middle East fellow at Rice University, said Saudi Arabia would seek a coalition with like-minded countries on fossil fuels, including China and Russia.

"The Saudis will not want to be cast as the sole holdout in favour of fossil fuel," Ulrichsen said.

Another thorny issue -- over who will host next year's COP29 -- appears to be headed towards an agreement after Armenia said it was dropping its rival bid in a goodwill gesture to try to normalise relations with its neighbour, petro-state Azerbaijan.

Next year is the turn of Eastern Europe and Russia. Under Western pressure over its invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has blocked the Bulgarian bid, saying no European Union member should take charge.

Related Links
Climate Science News - Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
CLIMATE SCIENCE
COP28 head presses nations to reach climate 'compromise'
Dubai (AFP) Dec 6, 2023
The Emirati head of the UN's climate conference pressed countries on Wednesday to strive for common ground and reach a "historic" deal by early next week, giving negotiators days to untangle disagreements over the fate of fossil fuels. It is rare for UN climate talks to end as scheduled but COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber set the ambitious goal of having a deal in place by 11:00 am (0700 GMT) on Tuesday, the last official day of the conference. He urged the nearly 200 nations represented at COP2 ... read more

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Got to have faith: religion finds its moment at COP28

Three months after quake, Morocco villages face winter chill

US pledges climate aid for cities, more private sector finance

Planet tipping points pose 'unprecedented' threat to humanity: report

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Transforming Waste into Strength: The Graphene Revolution in Concrete Recycling

The Rise of the Virtual Mission

Unlocking the secrets of natural materials

MIT engineers develop a way to determine how the surfaces of materials behave

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Shark net protects swimmers in French Pacific territory

Britain's Thames Water plans 'radical' turnaround

Norway to allow deep-sea mining

'We felt it first': Climate-threatened islands battle fossil fuels at COP28

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Himalayan glaciers react, blow cold winds down their slopes

Russia ramps up Arctic route ambitions

Greenland's Inuit falling through thin ice of climate change

Antarctica's ancient ice sheets foreshadow dynamic changes in Earth's future

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Maghreb farmers embrace drones to fight climate change

To the moo-n: cow dung fuels Japan's space ambitions

Morocco gardening school cultivates hope for marginalised youth

Over 130 nations agree to include food, agriculture in climate plans

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Indonesia volcano search effort focuses on last missing hiker

Magnitude 5.7 quake shakes Philippine capital

Eight dead as cyclone batters India's southeast coast

11 hikers dead after Indonesia volcano erupts, dozen still missing

CLIMATE SCIENCE
World Bank unveils $5 bn renewable energy plan for Africa

UN deplores deadly Nigeria drone strike on civilians

Dozens killed after Nigerian army drone strike hits villagers

Libya dismantles illegal gold mining network

CLIMATE SCIENCE
New Archaeological Discoveries Shed Light on Austronesian Migration

Fishing chimpanzees found to enjoy termites as a seasonal treat

Good neighbors: Bonobo study offers clues into early human alliances

How "blue" and "green" appeared in a language that didn't have words for them

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.