COP28 President declared that the “phase down of fossil fuels is inevitable”

For Immediate Release:
8 June 2023

Today, at the Bonn Climate Conference, the COP28 President designate Dr. Sultan Al Jaber declared that the “phase down of fossil fuels is inevitable” and called for an “energy system free of unabated fossil fuels.” He also called for countries to agree to triple  renewable energy and double energy efficiency by 2030.

Sultan Al Jaber’s speech to heads of delegations comes as civil society organizations have been calling for the climate negotiations to enshrine a fossil fuel phaseout. This call was echoed by a growing number of delegations at the Bonn climate conference.

Romain Ioualalen, Oil Change International Global Policy lead , said:
“This week at the Bonn climate conference, country after country asked for a decision to phase out fossil fuels. Finally, the COP28 presidency seems to be listening. As climate impacts escalate around the world, it is about time the UN climate negotiations signals an end to the drivers of the climate crisis: fossil fuels. 

“Phasing out fossil fuels is inevitable but also urgent. Winning slowly is losing and we need action now. That is why we urge the presidency to move from words to deeds and ensure COP28 enshrines a massive expansion of renewable energy and signals the end of the fossil fuel era. 

“To secure a meaningful agreement at COP28 that will be judged as success by people and communities around the world, vague words of phasing down fossil fuels and promoting false solutions such as CCS aren’t enough. The phase out must be full, fair, fast, and funded.

David Tong, Oil Change International, Global Industry lead, said:
“The end of oil, gas, and coal is inevitable. It will happen. But the industry responsible for the  climate crisis – the oil and gas industry – is fighting a desperate rearguard action against the inevitable.

“Oil Change International research published during COP27 revealed that the company the the COP28 president leads, ADNOC, is on track to be the company driving the second most new oil and gas expansion from 2023 to 2025 worldwide. That is the opposite of phasing down fossil fuel production.

“Instead of doing what the science demands and cutting production, ADNOC and the UAE are betting on dangerous distractions like carbon capture and storage. These self-serving strategies serve only to prolong oil and gas production, at the expense of all our futures.

“For us to have a future, oil and gas must have no future.”

ENDS