Page 5 - Fossil Fuel

Climate talks enter last day with no agreement in sight on fossil fuels

Hopes for finishing a critical climate summit on time were fading early on Tuesday as countries were still far apart on key issues, including an agreement on what to do about the fossil fuels that are causing dangerous global warming. The United Nations-led summit known as COP28 was scheduled to end around midday after nearly two weeks of speeches, demonstrations and negotiations. But the climate talks often run long, and Monday's release of a draft agreement angered countries that insist on a commitment for rapid phase-out of coal, oil and gas. Instead, the draft called for countries to reduce consumption and production of fossil fuels, in a just, orderly and equitable manner. Tina Stege, climate envoy for the Marshall Islands, ridiculed the document as a meaningless wish list that questions the science" and said it doesn't address the Paris agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) to stave off the worst effects of climate change. Earth is on its w

COP28 summit: Draft climate deal stops short of fossil fuel 'phase-out'

First global stocktake on Paris Agreement recognizes current emissions reductions not enough

New COP28 draft text does not mention phasing out of fossil fuels

The relevant section of the text said that parties recognize "the need for deep, rapid and sustained reductions in GHG (greenhouse gases) emissions and calls upon Parties to take actions

UN officials, activists ramp up urgency as COP28 enters final days

Visibly tired and frustrated top United Nations officials urged climate talks to push harder for an end to fossil fuels. Time seems to be running out both in the talks in Dubai and for action that could keep warming at or below the internationally agreed-upon threshold. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres returned to the summit on Monday and said it was time to go into overdrive, to negotiate in good faith, and rise to the challenge. He said negotiators at the COP28 summit in particular must focus on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and climate justice. He said the global stocktake the part of talks that assesses where the world is at with its climate goals and how it can reach them should phase out all fossil fuels in order to reach the goal of limiting the rise of global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) compared with pre-industrial times. That phase-out was, he said, a central aspect" for the summit to be considered a success. "We can't k

'COP28 decisions only as strong as what least-ambitious nations accept'

It's the killer detail in international climate talks: Consensus. With nearly 200 nations of different sizes, economies, political systems, resources and needs, they all have to find common ground if they are going to save the one common ground they share planet Earth. Consensus is frequently used to weaken efforts to curb climate change and experts say that's by design, dating back to oil interests and the first United Nations climate negotiations. Some veteran politicians would like to change it, while others embrace it as the only fair way to get things done. Whatever decision is taken can only be as strong as what the least ambitious (nations) are prepared to accept, said climate talks historian Joanna Depledge of Cambridge University. And we've seen that over the years. US Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said the practise of requiring near-unanimity could be fatal: A small, self-interested minority of states cannot be allowed to block the progress ...

Work faster, be flexible: 11th-hourr push for fossil fuel deal at COP28

Draft paper lists adaptation targets for 2030 but disagreement lingers

At COP28, sticking points remain on fossil fuels and adapting to climate

Negotiators have been urged to narrow down their options so they can agree on how to save Earth from disastrous levels of warming and help vulnerable societies adapt to weather extremes as the clock runs down on United Nations climate talks. COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber told journalists Sunday afternoon that negotiators were making good progress, just not fast enough. Am I satisfied with the speed and the pace? al-Jaber said, as protesters could be heard nearby calling for the end of fossil fuels. The answer is no. ... Time has come for us to shift gears. Time has come for us to deliver. There some were signs negotiators were moving forward on Sunday: A new draft agreement on global adaptation goals which will determine how poor countries will brace themselves for climate change-fuelled weather extremes like drought, heat and storms was released. The draft text expresses concern over the gap between the money needed for adaptation and how much countries are getting, but it ...

COP28 climate summit: Negotiators turn back to future of fossil fuels

The United Nations climate conference on Friday began its final week with negotiators expected to zoom in on the future of fossil fuels on a dangerously warming planet. Thursday was a rest day, a bit of quiet before talks at COP28 grow even more intense. Negotiators will work to finalize a key document called the Global Stocktake. It evaluates the world's climate change progress since the 2015 Paris agreement and what needs to be done now to avoid blowing past its goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) compared to preindustrial times. You start off very hopeful, euphoria, COP28 CEO Annan Amin said. Things are happening. Then the negotiations get hard and people start spreading rumours and conjecture and a little bit of depression, and then things start to come up again. And the clarity of the negotiations process becomes clearer. Then you have the political engagement, and that's where the real intensity and excitement comes from. A draft of the Global ...

Phasing out fossil fuels among options on table for COP28 climate talks

"Absolutely not," he said when asked in a TV interview in Riyadh whether his country, the world's top oil exporter, would be happy to see the language added

Carbon emissions in India to increase by 8.2%, 4% in China in 2023: Study

Carbon emissions in India are projected to increase in India by 8.2 per cent in 2023, and by 4 per cent in China, according to an international research. Global emissions from coal, oil and gas are all projected to increase by 1.1, 1.5 and 0.5 per cent, respectively, even as they are predicted to decline in the EU and the USA by 7.4 and 3 per cent, respectively, the research team that included the University of Exeter, UK, and 90 other institutions globally said in its report. The Global Carbon Budget report, produced by more than 120 scientists, provides an annual, peer-reviewed update, building on established methodologies, the researchers said. The report projects total global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, arising out of both fossil fuels and land-use change, to be 40.9 billion tonnes in 2023. Of these, 36.8 billion tonnes would be from fossil fuels, up 1.1 per cent from 2022. Atmospheric CO2 levels are projected to average 419.3 parts per million in 2023, more than 50 per cen

5 MMT green hydrogen can help cut Rs 1 trn worth fossil fuel imports: Singh

With the 5 million metric tonnes (MMT) installed capacity under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, India can reduce imports of fossil fuel worth Rs 1 lakh crore by 2030, Union Minister R K Singh said on Tuesday. In January 2023, the Union Cabinet approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission with an outlay of Rs 19,744 crore with an aim to make India a global hub for manufacturing this clean source of energy. Green hydrogen has the potential to replace fossil fuels including natural gas, either as a source of energy or as a feedstock, thereby contributing to reduction in dependence on import of fossil fuels, the Minister for New and Renewable Energy informed the Rajya Sabha. The mission envisages substitution of grey hydrogen with green hydrogen in industries such as fertilizer production, petroleum refining, steel, shipping etc. reducing carbon footprint and dependence on imported fossil fuels, he said. "The quantum of such reduction in imports is estimated at Rs 1 lakh crore by

Whether to phase out or phase down fossil fuels is the question at COP28

After days of shaving off the edges of key warming issues, climate negotiators on Tuesday zeroed in on the tough job of dealing with the main cause of what's overheating the planet: fossil fuels. As scientists, activists and United Nations officials repeatedly detailed how the world needs to phase-out the use of coal, oil and natural gas, the United Arab Emirates-hosted conference opened energy transition day with a session headlined by top officials of two oil companies. Negotiators produced a new draft of what's expected to be the core document of the UN talks, something called the Global Stocktake, but it had so many possibilities in its 24-pages that it didn't give too much of a hint of what will be agreed upon when the session ends next week. Whatever is adopted has to be agreed on by consensus so it has to be near unanimous. The central issue of this COP, the global stocktake, is to reach a conclusion about the phasing out of fossil fuels, said climate scientist Bill Hare, CEO

'On track to have 50% installed power capacity via non-fossil fuel sources'

India is on its track to have 50 per cent of its installed power generation capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030, Union Minister R K Singh informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. The country's installed power generation capacity from non-fossil source is 186.46 gigawatt (GW), which is 43.82 per cent of its total installed capacity, the minister for new and renewable energy said. "India is on track for achieving its target of having 50 per cent of its installed source generation capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030," Singh, who also holds the portfolio of Power Minister said. Of the total 186.46 GW capacity, 178.98 GW is renewable energy and 7.48 GW is nuclear power. In addition, 114.08 GW of capacity is under implementation and 55.13 GW of capacity is under tendering. The non-fossil electricity capacity increased from 32.54 per cent in March 2014, to 43.82 per cent in October 2023. Singh further said that the government has taken several measures to promote renewable ene

Draft text at COP28 shows negotiators considering fossil fuel 'phase out'

The first option in the draft text was listed as "an orderly and just phase out of fossil fuels". The second called for "accelerating efforts towards phasing out unabated fossil fuels

Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels to rise 1.1% to hit peak in 2023

The planet is on track to exceed its carbon budget for 1.5C of warming around 2030, and the budget for 1.7C in 15 years, according to the group's Global Carbon Budget annual report

COP28: Top development banks vow to up climate game, quiet on fossil fuels

The group said it would look at activities including removing "distorting" subsidies and developing pipelines of green projects

UN secretary general, COP28 president clash over future of fossil fuels

The competing visions summed up the most divisive issue facing world leaders at this year's UN climate summit in the oil-producing United Arab Emirates

Pressure builds to cut fossil fuel use as oil exec takes over climate talks

Pressure to phase out fossil fuels mounted Thursday on the oil company chief who took over fragile international climate negotiations that opened in Dubai on Thursday in what some say are contradictory dual roles. United Nations and climate talks leaders might have relieved some of the pressure when negotiators unanimously approved much-fought over plans to launch and fund a program to compensate poorer nations hit by floods, storms, drought and other climate extremes. Several nations, led by host United Arab Emirates, immediately pledged more than $420 million for the fund, which took 30 years to approve. Leaders said they hope the quick win on a key financial issue would set a new tone for negotiations that had put the climate talks newly installed boss on the hot seat and not just because the planet keeps smashing heat records. Days before the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP28) began, meeting preparation notes were published that linked efforts by the United Arab Emirat

The fossil fuel dilemma

Pandemic recovery, energy security, and profitability are fuelling demand, with China and India spearheading coal production growth

Opec head Haitham Al Ghais accuses IEA of vilifying fossil fuel industry

"This presents an extremely narrow framing of challenges before us, and perhaps expediently plays down such issues as energy security, energy access and energy affordability," Al Ghais said