COP28 must make fossil fuels history
Expectations for the UN climate talks in Dubai
COP28 takes place at the end of a blistering year of record-breaking temperatures and climate-induced extreme weather. A year that saw the world’s climate scientists lay out the unequivocal need for steep and immediate emissions cuts to limit warming to 1.5ºC and ways to get there. A year in which the International Energy Agency set out a narrow but feasible 1.5ºC aligned pathway for the decline of fossil fuels and acceleration of renewables.
The causes and consequences of climate change have never been clearer – and the solutions never more in reach. Fossil fuels are killing us, but renewable energy promises a better future for all. Yet rising emissions and planned expansion of fossil fuel production are wildly out of sync with the direction of progress needed. And financial support to reduce emissions in poorer countries, along with finance to address escalating climate impacts remains completely inadequate.
COP28, marking a key stress test for the Paris Agreement, will be about facing the facts, correcting course and giving solutions a real chance to deliver.
What we need from COP28
1. COP28 in Dubai is where countries must finally agree to set us free from fossil fuels. The moment world leaders decide to end the expansion of coal, oil and gas and accelerate renewable energy
transition, with a fair and managed phase out of fossil fuels.
2. The Global Stocktake at COP28 must conclude with outcomes that kick-start transformative action across the board to limit temperatures to 1.5ºC and respond to increasing climate impacts.
3. Success will only be possible with a credible finance package that is commensurate with real-world needs, includes the launch of a new Loss and Damage Fund, and moves us closer to making polluters pay for the destruction and harm they have caused.
In the COP28 Media Brief we detail our expectations, or see the full Greenpeace Policy Briefing.