Nations struck a historic deal on Wednesday at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai to transition the global economy away from fossil fuels, following two weeks of hard-fought debate.
The headline agreement in the COP28 pact was a provision that calls 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."
The pact also had rewards for oil producers, in the form of a clear acknowledgment that technologies exist that can reduce the climate impact of oil, natural gas and coal - mainly by capturing carbon dioxide produced when fossil fuels are burned to prevent the emissions entering the atmosphere.
Embedded in a list of actions that countries should take to fight climate change was: "Accelerating zero- and low-emission technologies, including, inter alia, renewables, nuclear, abatement and removal technologies such as carbon capture and utilization and storage."
Even the delegations that appeared happiest with the accord had issues with it. The main one was the absence of any additional financing to help developing nations with the huge cost of transitioning away from fossil fuels.
That said, the U.N. climate summit clinched an early victory related to money at the start of the talks, when delegates adopted a new fund to help poor nations cope with the loss and damage caused by climate disaster.
The United States, the European Union, and scores of other countries were generally pleased with the outcome of the talks, saying the deal maintained a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degress Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial average.
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