DUBAI, UAE – A draft COP28 climate change agreement that does not include a phase-out of fossil fuels has drawn widespread criticism from key stakeholders, highlighting deep-seated rifts on the final day of the international summit. There is.

The document, released by the United Arab Emirates, which hosts the climate summit, emphasized the need to reduce emissions but did not call for a complete phase-out of fossil fuels. Scientists believe that fossil fuels the single biggest factor Contributing to potentially life-threatening climate change.

Representatives from the United States, the European Union and countries vulnerable to climate change, including many in Africa and the Pacific Islands, have issued dire warnings about the draft agreement, putting it at odds with many oil-producing countries.

Wopke Hoekstra, the EU’s chief negotiator for COP28, told reporters that the draft was “clearly inadequate and inadequate to address the issues we need to address here.”

“It’s not because we want it, it’s not because the minister or I want it, it’s not because the Europeans want it,” Hoekstra said. “Because scientists clearly understand what is needed, and at the top of that list is the phasing out of fossil fuels. [correlation] Between doing so and ensuring we have the planet, we rescue people from danger. ”

US climate change envoy John Kerry expressed similar concerns, saying: Significant reductions are expected over the next 10 years. ”

“This is a war for survival,” he added.

The combustion of coal, oil, and gas accounts for more than three-quarters of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. This is why so many people asked for the results of COP28 to show that “We are truly at the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era.”

However, COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber said: faced a backlash last week He insisted there was “no science” behind calls to phase out fossil fuels and that such a move would not enable sustainable development “unless we want the world to go back into caves”. .

In response to the subsequent outcry, Jaber, who is also the chief executive of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), said his team “very much believes in and respects science.”

A COP28 spokesperson told CNBC at the time that Al-Jaber was “steadfast” in saying that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius requires action across many regions and sectors.

“We consider that there are elements in this document that are completely unacceptable,” Spain’s Minister of Environmental Transition, Teresa Rivera, told reporters after Monday’s publication of the draft, adding: “We believe there are elements in this document that are completely unacceptable.” How can we move forward in this important decade in the energy sector? ”

“I think it’s good to be clear about what we really want to create in this COP that the world needs, and whether we want this COP to create what it’s supposed to be: a turning point in the fight against climate change. ” she said. Added.

Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Annalena Verbock said the text was misleading. “In this critical decade, there is a complete lack of need to urgently replace and reduce fossil fuels in the power sector. The language on coal is inconsistent with EU energy policy, and the construction of new coal-fired power plants is completely absent. “is tolerated,” she said.

“Above all, the context around fossil fuels is misleading the world. This suggests that fossils may continue to play a significant role in our future. and send a misleading signal to the market.”

The draft document outlines several options for countries to reduce emissions, including “to achieve net zero by, or before, 2050. It includes “reducing both the consumption and production of fossil fuels in a fair, orderly and equitable manner.”

COP28 President Jaber said on Monday that the nearly 200 countries taking part in the talks “still have a lot of work to do”.

“Progress is needed on many areas, including the language on fossil fuels,” he said, calling for “more flexibility” from stakeholders.

The UAE is a member of the powerful oil producing group OPEC and is among the top 10 oil producing countries in the world.