Draft COP28 text ‘insufficient’ and ‘unacceptable’, EU says

The Emirati head of COP28 climate talks on Monday (11 December) stopped short of pushing for a phase-out of fossil fuels in a first bid for consensus that drew immediate criticism from Western countries who had hoped for a historic turning point.

After an earlier draft listed the landmark option of a “phase-out” of oil, gas and coal, the new text draft focuses on “reducing” their production and consumption to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

If the text aimed to win over the Saudis, it disappointed Western leaders, with the European Union, the United States, Germany and France all calling for more robust language.

“We consider this an insufficient text,” said Teresa Ribera, the Spanish ecology minister who is part of the EU delegation to COP28. “There are elements in the text that are fully unacceptable,” she added, referring to the lack of explicit reference to the phase-out of fossil fuels.

French negotiator Agnès Pannier-Runacher echoed those words. “This text is insufficient. There are elements that are not acceptable as they are,” she said.

The United States, while voicing appreciation for Emirati efforts, called for fossil fuel language to be “substantially strengthened”.

But a person familiar with the COP28 presidency’s thinking called the text “an opening gambit” that can be built upon.

Negotiators who spent 12 days in the glitzy metropolis built on petrodollars were expected to work through the night, with few expecting an agreement by the official close on Tuesday.

The draft agreement says countries can take action that includes “reducing both consumption and production of fossil fuels, in a just, orderly and equitable manner to achieve net zero by, before, or around 2050 in keeping with the science”.

On coal, the dirtiest form of energy, the text lists limitations on “new and unabated coal power” – meaning going ahead with potential projects that use new carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.

The text does list an option of “phasing out” of “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies” that encourage “wasteful consumption”.

The EU’s climate chief, Wopke Hoekstra, said there were “a couple of good things” in the draft text but that overall, it was “clearly insufficient and not adequate” to address the climate issue and keep global warming below 1.5°C, one of the key objectives of the Paris Agreement.

“Scientists are crystal clear about what is needed,” Hoekstra said. “And on top of that list is phasing out fossil fuels”.

However, the Dutchman expressed hope that a solution could be found.

“These things are never over until they’re over,” Hoekstra told journalists in Dubai, saying there is “a great majority of countries” that are demanding a phase-out of fossil fuels and getting rid of coal – including small islands, as well as countries in Europe, North America and Asia.

“It’s up to us to make sure these voices are being heard and that this is solved in the next day, or the next days, or however long it’s going to take,” he added.

Hoekstra listed elements of a deal that would be acceptable to the European Union, saying it needs to be “specific” on phasing out fossil fuels, “with 2030 as a first clear moment in time”, and “making it specific about how the world should treat coal”.

While Hoekstra acknowledged that fossil fuels cannot be ended overnight and that some technologies like carbon capture and storage (CCS) will be needed for the hardest-to-abate sectors of the economy, “that should not be misunderstood that for the vast majority of our emissions, we have no alternative but to drive them down and out asap”.

“We have no alternative than to continue the conversation and ensure that we arrive at keeping 1.5 alive,” he said.

[Edited by Alice Taylor]

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