COP28 ends with call to ‘transition away’ from fossil fuels; UN’s Guterres says the industry will phase out 'whether they like it or not'

With an unprecedented reference to fossil fuels, the UN climate conference in Dubai, COP28, in its final document called on countries to work towards “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems” but fell short of making the much-anticipated call for a “phaseout”.

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Reacting to the adoption of the outcome document, UN chief Antonio Guterres said mention of the world’s leading contributor to climate change comes after many years in which the discussion of this issue was blocked.

The Secretary-General stressed that the era of fossil fuels must end with justice and equity.

“To those who opposed a clear reference to a phaseout of fossil fuels in the COP28 text, I want to say that a fossil fuel phase out is inevitable whether they like it or not. Let’s hope it doesn’t come too late”, he added.

More to follow on the breaking story from COP28 in Dubai…