President finalizes new draft based on red lines

“P“We spent the last night discussing and receiving feedback and this has put us in a position to draft a new text, which includes all the elements we need for a comprehensive plan until 2030,” said Ambassador Majid Al Suwaidi and Director- general meeting of the 28th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP28).

At a press conference updating the final negotiations, which were supposed to end today, the official said that the new text is being worked on based on the lines presented overnight by the countries, after seeing the draft released at the end of the afternoon.

“The text we released was a starting point for the discussion. It’s completely normal for a process based on consensus. We knew that opinions were polarized, but we didn’t know what the countries’ red lines were,” he added.

Regarding the new wording, Majid Al Suwaidi said that “everything is there” in terms of mitigation, adaptation, forms of implementation and ‘loss and damage’, but did not give details on the issue of fossil fuels, the least consensual between the parties.

In the proposed final text of the “Global Balance” of the eight years of the Paris Agreement, presented on Monday by the president of COP28, Sultan Al Jaber, the end of fossil fuels is no longer mentioned, which deserved the opposition of several countries , including the European Union, United States, United Kingdom and Australia.

“We’re trying to agree on a plan to fill the gaps between where the world is and where it needs to be to keep 1.5ºC within reach. That’s been our north star and part of that is including fossil fuels in the text “, said the general director.

“If we succeed, it would be historic,” he added, noting, however, that it is a consensus process and that, above all, it is necessary to find a balance between countries.

During the negotiations, which have been taking place for almost two weeks in Dubai, different formulation options were on the table that referred to the gradual reduction and elimination of fossil fuels or just the end of the so-called ‘unabated’, that is, those in which carbon capture is not possible.

“We have known for a long time that the language around fossil fuels is complicated and it is important to have the right language, it is important to understand how we can have that balance”, said Majid Al Suwaidi, pointing out the need for a formulation “that does not cause blockages” .

One of the main objectives of COP28 is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, produced mainly by fossil fuels, and prevent temperatures from rising above 1.5º compared to pre-industrial times, goals defined in the Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015.

The first global assessment of the Agreement is being made at the summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which is scheduled to end today, but which could be prolonged, contrary to the expectations of Al Jaber, who expected to conclude the work by 11:00 am on today (7am in Lisbon).

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