A fight over the future of fossil fuels has been thrust into the global spotlight at the COP28 climate summit.
Many gathering in Dubai for COP28 believe the talks can only be considered a success if they result in a deal to “phase out” all fossil fuels.
The language of the final agreement, expected by or around December 12, 2023 will be closely monitored. A “phase out” commitment would likely require a shift away from fossil fuels until their use is eliminated, while a “phase down” could indicate a reduction in their use — but not an absolute end.
Kenya has launched a plan that seeks to accelerate economic green growth in Africa.
Africa’s Green Industrialisation is expected to scale up green industries across the continent. It will also promote climate mitigation and adaptation.
“It marks a huge stride towards the realisation of the Nairobi Declaration,” said President William Ruto who made the remarks on Saturday during the Initiative’s launch in Dubai on the sidelines of the ongoing 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference.
He noted that the landmark step will further activate private sector-led scaling-up of green industrial clusters in the region.
Johan Rockstrom, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and one of the world’s most influential Earth scientists, told CNBC that there is no doubt that COP28 “has to be the mitigation COP.”
“The outcome of COP28 must be that all the oil, gas and coal nations of the world see that now we are truly at the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era for the world economy. And that we are now starting to bend the curve, properly,” he said.
“It is only that that will count whether COP28 is a success,” he continued. “Everything else will follow. So, of course, it is good to make progress on loss and damage, Article 6, financing, adaptation, nature, agriculture and water, but it is all following from whether or not we make progress on the fossil fuel phase-out.”
‘This year is different’
In an unprecedented start to proceedings on Thursday, delegates at COP28 sealed the details of a landmark deal to help the world’s most vulnerable countries pay for the impacts of climate disasters.
The operationalization of the so-called loss and damage fund was hailed as a welcome breakthrough and helps to clear the way for policymakers to negotiate on other major issues.
The Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative builds upon the success of the UAE’s existing USD 4.5 billion Africa Green Investment Initiative.
It aims to finance 15GW of renewable energy in Africa by the end of the decade, which will unlock investments in Africa’s green industrialisation.
“Now we don’t have an agenda fight [and] we don’t have a loss and damage fight, it opens up a space for us to have a big fossil fuel fight,” said Catherine Abreu, founder of the Destination Zero network of nonprofits working on climate issues.
