COP28 draft text drops 'phaseout' of fossil fuels to outcry

Document calls only for reducing use, which Samoa, EU say isn't enough

2023-12-11 COP draft text.JPG

Licypriya Kangujam, an Indigenous climate activist from India, holds up a banner during the COP28 summit in Dubai. © Reuters

RHYANNON BARTLETT-IMADEGAWA and SAYUMI TAKE, Nikkei staff writers

DUBAI/TOKYO -- A draft text released by the United Nations climate conference in Dubai on Monday failed to include a "phaseout" of fossil fuels that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had urged and that many countries wanted.

Nations now might fail to unanimously endorse a gradual end to fossil fuel use, an action key to limiting global warming below the tipping point of 1.5 degrees C above preindustrial levels, the latest draft text indicates. The COP28 climate summit is due to conclude on Tuesday, though it has run over in the past.

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