A new draft agreement was published this Friday, December 8, at COP 28, further expanding the possibilities on fossil fuels, in an attempt to find the right formula likely to win the support of countries with contradictory aspirations. . This third version of the text, which serves as a basis for discussion with a view to adoption by the end of the COP on Tuesday, takes up in 27 pages and 206 articles the different options put forward by the different countries, with new, original formulations.
Five options on the table
On fossil fuels, at the heart of the discussions, five options are now proposed, including that of having “no text” – nothing on the subject – or even “an exit from fossil fuels aligned with the best available scientific knowledge”. Two other formulations for phasing out fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) more specifically emphasize the role of emissions capture technologies. But the fate of fossil fuels is also indirectly mentioned in other passages of the text, in particular the one which calls for a tripling of the capacity of renewable energies in the world by 2030. This therefore also opens the way to a formulation final which could link the fates of the two types of energies.
This development of renewables could thus be implemented in such a way that it “displaces”, or replaces, energy based on fossil fuels, according to one of the options proposed. A phraseology which echoes a joint declaration in November between China and the United States, the two largest emitters in the world. The two powers committed to “sufficiently accelerating the deployment of renewables […] to accelerate the replacement of electricity generation from coal, oil and gas.
But, remember that nothing is decided and that certain countries do not want to see overly specific formulas on energy, one option is also to have “no text” on renewables.