Key Points
- The deal was backed by 198 countries at the United Nations climate summit in Dubai.
- The COP28 summit deal will push nations to "transition away" from fossil fuels.
- It was backed by 198 countries following marathon negotiations and uncertainty over the wording of the final agreement
Representatives from nearly 200 countries agreed at the COP28 climate summit on Wednesday to begin reducing global consumption of fossil fuels to avert the worst impacts of climate change, a first-of-its-kind deal signalling the eventual end of the oil age.
The deal, struck in Dubai after two weeks of hard-fought negotiations, was meant to send a powerful signal to investors and policy-makers that the world is now united in its desire to break with fossil fuels, something scientists say is the last best hope to stave off climate catastrophe.
"It is the first time that the world unites around such a clear text on the need to transition away from fossil fuels," said Norway Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide of the agreement.
"It has been the elephant in the room. At last we address it head on."
More than 100 countries had lobbied hard for strong language in the COP28 agreement to "phase out" oil, gas and coal use, but came up against powerful opposition from the Saudi Arabia-led oil producer group OPEC, which argued that the world can slash emissions without shunning specific fuels.
That battle pushed the summit into overtime on Wednesday.
Now that the deal is struck, countries are responsible for delivering on the agreements through national policies and investments.
The proposed deal would specifically call for "transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner ... so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science."
It also calls for a tripling of renewable energy capacity globally by 2030, speeding up efforts to reduce coal, and accelerating technologies such as carbon capture and storage that can clean up hard-to-decarbonise industries.
'The death-knell for fossil fuels'
Climate Council chief executive Amanda McKenzie said the agreement, which also urged countries to triple global renewable energy capacity, was significant.
"This is a huge moment," she said.
"For the first time, nations have collectively agreed to tackle pollution - from burning coal, oil and gas - that is overheating our planet and harming people all over the world.
"This is the death knell for fossil fuels.
"This agreement sets us on a clear path to embrace clean energy technology like wind, solar and batteries, and move beyond fossil fuels."
Greenpeace Australia Pacific chief executive David Ritter welcomed the agreement but said Australia needed to step up to cut its use of fossil fuels.
"While this isn't what we hoped for, the text sends a clear message that there is an overwhelming momentum to end the fossil fuel era," he said.
"Now we need developed countries to take the lead - to transition their economies in a way that is fast, fair and places justice at its core - and to offer financial support to the most climate-vulnerable nations."
Greens leader Adam Bandt said the statement from the summit did not go far enough but said the message for the federal government was clear.
"The weak word salad from the global climate summit proves one thing - Australia can't wait for other countries before stopping new coal and gas mines," he said on social media platform X.
"Limiting global heating to 1.5C means no new coal and gas at a minimum, yet Labor still wants more and the other petro-states do too."
