The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai closed today with an agreement the organiser’s said signalled the “beginning of the end” of the fossil fuel era.
Negotiators from nearly 200 parties agreed on the world’s first ‘global stocktake’ to ramp up climate action by the end of the decade, with the overarching aim of keeping the global temperature limit of 1.5°C within reach.
The stocktake calls on all parties globally to take actions towards achieving a tripling of renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency improvements by 2030. The stocktake also includes accelerating efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal power, phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, and other measures that drive the transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems.
In his closing speech, Simon Stiell, UN climate change executive secretary, said: “Whilst we didn’t turn the page on the fossil fuel era in Dubai, this outcome is the beginning of the end. Now all governments and businesses need to turn these pledges into real-economy outcomes, without delay.
“We must get on with the job of putting the Paris Agreement fully to work. In early 2025, countries must deliver new nationally determined contributions. Every single commitment – on finance, adaptation, and mitigation – must bring us in line with a 1.5-degree world.”
Despite an agreement being reached to move away from fossil fuels, some critics pointed out it did not include an explicit commitment to phase out or even phase down fossil fuels and many sustainability experts argue the deal fell short on what was needed on emissions reductions.
Matt Sal, UK sustainability manager at Colliers said: “For those working in sustainability it’s hard to view COP28 with anything but a healthy level of scepticism when fossil fuel interests are so evident and influential. However this two-week conference offers a chance for a global focus in on this topic and remind the world of the real dangers and changes that we are living through, and an increasing number are not surviving.
“Real estate needs to continue to lead the agenda; accelerating down the path we’ve already set and continually evolving and improving our plans. We can leverage global conversations like COP28 to get it done, rather than be distracted by them. While we may not yet have legally binding agreements to eliminate fossil fuels to a set deadline, we must continue to deliver; protecting and enhancing the long-term value and viability of assets and our communities.”
Lucy Wood, UK climate solutions leader at Stantec, added: “The future is circular, sustainable and renewable. As the world moves away from fossil fuels, in the UK, we need to be thinking more about how we’re going to facilitate this clean transition. To meet our targets, we urgently need to lay the groundwork for green power sources. This is something we are spearheading with clients at Stantec. We must prioritise the upgrade of our national grid infrastructure and futureproof our energy supply. To distribute the energy from offshore and intermittent sources, a suitable transmission network has to be in place. We need intermittent renewables backed up with grid scale pumped storage so we can phase out fossil fuel generation and reliably support both base and peak power demands.”
