Dubai, UAE — A new draft climate agreement proposed Monday by the Emirati presidency of UN COP28 talks called for reducing the production and consumption of fossil fuels but it no longer mentioned a “phase-out”.
The text prepared under COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber, the head of the UAE’s national oil company, was released on the eve of the final day of the annual climate conference in Dubai.
The document calls for reducing the consumption and production of fossil fuels in “a just, orderly and equitable manner so as to achieve net zero by, before, or around 2050 in keeping with the science.”
A previous draft on Friday included the word “phase-out” which climate campaigners, low-lying island states and the European Union have been pushing for.
Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the head of the OPEC oil cartel have opposed language that would target fossil fuels in any COP28 deal.