Coming to an end this Wednesday, December 13, 2023, Cop 28 concludes with a historic agreement on fossil fuels. But some disappointments are being heard.
After an additional night of negotiations, countries from around the world present at Cop 28 in Dubai reached a historic agreement. The compromise resulted in a text calling for a “transition” towards the abandonment of fossil fuels. A “historic” decision according to Sultan Al-Jaber, president of the conference. Although a large number of States have welcomed this agreement, notably the European Union, some remain more mixed, even disappointed. The text in fact represents a first step towards the end of fossil fuels with a “transition”, but does not constitute a clear “exit” from their use.
Furthermore, certain countries say they are “worried” about the adopted text: the member states of Aosis (Alliance of small island states), the Alliance of small island states. Anne Rasmussen, whose country, Samoa, chairs the Alliance, spoke after the adoption of the text this Wednesday morning. In her statement, she indicated to the president of COP 28 that the text was adopted without the agreement of the island states who abstained during the vote.
Although it acknowledged that the agreement presents interesting points, the alliance also added that for the states and the 39 islands it represents, the decisions taken are not sufficient. Island states are in fact the first affected by climate change and some, like the island of Tuvalu in the Pacific, are already in a critical situation. According to the alliance, the sole “transition” towards abandoning fossil fuels is “very disappointing”. Above all, she expressed her doubts about the use of “zero or low emissions” technologies mentioned in the text in order to implement this transition which according to her would only minimize the effects of petroleum products.
She also clarified that she could not afford to return home from this Cop 28 with proof that the conference has kept its commitments to these islands. Anne Rasmussen specified that it is essential for these countries to maintain global warming at a maximum of 1.5°C. She called in particular for the use of science in the decisions taken: “It is not enough to refer to science and then stipulate agreements which ignore the direction that science indicates to us”. Various representatives of nations stood up to applaud his intervention.