A historic agreement. An unprecedented pact. The first commitment in history to forge a unanimous call to start a fair and accelerated “transition” to leave behind the fossil fuels that have unleashed climate chaos. Against all odds, Dubai climate summit has managed to push forward an agreement in which for the first time the need to leave oil, gas and coal behind is clearly stated, drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and do everything possible to limit global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees. “We promised a historic agreement and we have achieved it“said the president of the meeting, Sultan Al Jaber, to the applause of the representatives of almost two hundred countries that have signed the final agreement.
The approval of the Dubai pact It came almost as a surprise. Early this Wednesday, after the umpteenth night of negotiations against the clock, the presidency of the United Arab Emirates published a new draft of the agreements much more “ambitious” than its predecessor. Shortly after, Al Jaber called a plenary session with all the countries to discuss the text. And it was there where, just as he took the floor, he asked the parties to vote on the draft that he had proposed. In the corridors of Dubai everyone expected that this gesture would start a dialectical battle but finally, against all odds, the plenary agreed unanimously to move forward with the text without any modifications. And this, in turn, sparked widespread applause in the room.
The text includes the objective of “achieving net zero by 2050” adapting to the different circumstances of each country
The Dubai Pact includes a series of unprecedented messages. The most important has to do with the future of fossil fuels. The text includes a request to carry out a “rapid and fair” transition away from fossil fuels, taking “actions in this critical decade” and with the goal of “achieving net zero by 2050” as science demands. . It also recognizes that this call is not universal but must be adapted to the different circumstances of each country. The final text manages to sneak in all these messages without explicitly mentioning the most controversial conceptslike the call to “phase out” fossil energy, but reflecting the same philosophy.
“Clear message”
The approval of this pact has garnered great applause in the Dubai plenary session. “For many years, the debate on fossil fuels has been blocked. This summit, for the first time, has managed to send a clear message about it“said António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, after the approval of the text. “The era of fossil fuels does not end in Dubai, but we are at the beginning of the end“added Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN climate change department, before the countries gathered in the United Arab Emirates. Spanish Vice President Teresa Ribera has also expressed enthusiasm for this pact. “We have shown that we can go beyond the Paris agreement“he stated.
“The era of fossil fuels is not over in Dubai, but we are at the beginning of the end”
United Nations
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The hasty approval of the text, which comes forward one day after the official ‘deadline’ of the summit, has also aroused criticism. Especially from the countries of the global south. The spokesperson for Samoa, for example, has denounced that the text “does not sufficiently reflect” the scientific mandate to limit global warming. Bolivia, for its part, also has regretted the lack of more explicit messages to stop the advance of global warming and help the great victims of global chaos to cope with the losses and damages caused by climate extremes. And Bangladesh has lamented the lack of a clearer agreement to help countries in the global south adapt to cope with weather extremes.
There are many who talk about the This year’s climate summit is historic. And not only because of the text approved this Wednesday. Also for the decision adopted on the first day of the meeting, when the countries approved the creation of a fund for the countries most vulnerable to climate chaos. This initiative has already mobilized more than 600 million dollars and, although this figure is far from what is necessary to address it, its mere announcement also represents a turning point in the face of a historic demand from the global south. The presidency of this summit estimates that, in total, this meeting has mobilized more than 80 billion dollars in measures against the climate crisisalthough in this case too there are many gaps that remain to be cleared.