With days to go until COP28 wraps up, a cross part coalition of CEO’s, investors, scientists and climate activists has stepped up calls for an orderly phaseout of fossil fuels.
The statement, backed by more than 800 signatories, including NZAOA chair Günther Thallinger is addressed to COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber and warns of a global tipping point in the climate crisis.
It includes three key demands starting with an orderly phase out of all fossil fuels in in a just & equitable way, in line with a 1.5C trajectory. This should coincide with the the tripling of global renewable energy capacity by 2030 from 2022 levels and the doubling of energy efficiency.
Second, on investment in renewables the coalition demands the setup of a enabling environment to scale up and shift public and private finance. It believes developed countries should be taking the lead in action and support. There should also be a price on carbon and it demands tripling investments for renewable energy
This is subsequently linked to nature, with the coalition not just calling for the halt and reversal of deforestation and land degradation and the decline of biodiversity by the end of the decade, in line with the Montreal Framework.
They also emphasised the importance of safeguarding the territories of indigenous peoples; ensure resilient food systems and delivering a strong global goal on adaptation to the climate crisis.
Signatories include not just the mayors of London, Paris, Montreal, Freetown and other major cities, but also business leaders such Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington as well as Jacinda Ardern and Jane Goddall.
On the investor side, the statement is backed by the chair of the NZAOA, but also by former GPIF CIo Hiromichi Mizuno, Mafalda Duarte, the executive director of the Green Climate Fund, David Atkin the CEO of UNPRI and dozens of other senior investors. In the UK, the statement has also been backed by Jennifer Devine, head of the Wiltshire Pension Fund and Shaun Stephenson-McGall, vice chair of the Avon Pension Fund.
The call represents a high-profile attempt to bring the fossil phaseout debate to the official agenda, with negotiations now focussing on the key question whether a clear pledge to phase out fossil fuels should be included in the final COP28 deal. This has received backing by at least 80 countries, including the United States and the European Union but COP28 host UAE and the powerful OPEC cartel are staunchly opposed to such a commitment.
In a leaked letter, OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais urged all members of the alliance of oil producing countries not to commit to a phaseout.
The term “phaseout” was included in a draft for the closing statement on Tuesday, indicating that it is on the negotiating table, but was removed in an updated version of the text for the final agreement a day later.
