Climate advocates demand stronger COP28 language on fossil fuels [Video]

The 21-page text, prepared by the COP28 presidency, United Arab Emirates, makes no mention of fossil fuel ‘phasedown’ or ‘phaseout’, which UN Secretary-General António Guterres said earlier on Monday was one of the keys to the conference’s success and which many nations have demanded. 

Rather, the draft text called for countries to reduce “consumption and production of fossil fuels, in a just, orderly and equitable manner.”

The United States, European Union countries, and a group of small island developing States joined a chorus of civil society groups denouncing the draft as not going far enough to curb global warming.

This is not the final text though, and negotiations on compromise language are expected to continue all day Tuesday, the scheduled closing day for COP28.

Expect a waiting game as delegates wrangle over a new text that’s more than a list of things countries could do.

Activists and some countries are demanding stronger language that better …