Standoff over phasing-out fossil fuels pushes COP28 into overtime

A standoff between countries that want a dramatic phase-out of planet-warming fossil fuels and those that don't pushed a critical climate summit officially into overtime. But organisers were about to float another try at compromise.

Another compromise version of the cornerstone document, called the global stocktake, was being prepped Tuesday evening, along with side potential agreements about adaptation and financial aid to poor nations.

Delegates, analysts and activists hadn't yet had a chance to see just what’s in the latest proposal from the presidency run by host nation United Arab Emirates, but further negotiations were being set up for after they get a look.

Meetings between delegates and the presidency were ongoing on and some were optimistic.

Countries that owe a substantial part of their income to oil production, mainly Saudi Arabia and members of OPEC, opposed including the fossil fuel phaseout in the final text, Britain’s Financial Times reported.

The daily also quoted EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, who said that there is a “supermajority” that agrees to mention the phasing out of fossil fuels in the final text.

The first draft of the final communique mentioned a "just" and "orderly" reduction of fossil fuel consumption. The wording was found to be insufficient, particularly by island nations, whose very existence is threatened by the catastrophic effects of climate change, and Western nations.

The UN climate summit deals need a total consensus to pass, so another revision of the text might be in the works before a final communique is released.

'Polarized opinions'

Majid al-Suwaidi, COP28 Director-General, said Monday night's draft was meant to get countries to start talking and presenting their deal-killers.

“The text we released was a starting point for discussions,” he said at a news conference “When we released it, we knew opinions were polarized, but what we didn’t know was where each country’s red lines were.”

“We spent last night talking, taking in that feedback, and that has put us in a position to draft a new text,” he said.

In the 21-page document, the words oil and natural gas did not appear, and the word coal appeared twice. It also had a single mention of carbon capture, a technology touted by some to reduce emissions although it's untested at scale.

Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists urged negotiators to keep working.

“Please do not shut down this COP before we get the job done,” she said.