After nearly two weeks of hectic negotiations, countries on Wednesday were on the verge of reaching a historic deal on a ‘transition away from fossil fuels’ while emerging economies like India and China strongly opposed the targeting of coal.
This marks a step back from the earlier proposal of a ‘phase-out of fossil fuels’ that drew sharp criticism from many countries in the Global South and oil-reliant economies like Saudi Arabia.
A draft cover decision of the Dubai climate talks released early in the morning called for a “deep, rapid, and sustained” reduction in planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions in line with 1.5 degree Celsius pathways in a “nationally determined” manner, taking into account the Paris Agreement and their different national circumstances, pathways, and approaches.
It lays an eight-point plan to achieve this, including a “transition away from fossil fuels” in energy systems in a “just, orderly and equitable manner”, accelerating action in this decade, to achie