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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/14/failure-cop28-fossil-fuel-phase-out-devastating-say-scientists>
"The failure of Cop28 to call for a phase-out of fossil fuels is “devastating”
and “dangerous” given the urgent need for action to tackle the climate crisis,
scientists have said.
One called it a “tragedy for the planet and our future” while another said it
was the “dream outcome” for the fossil fuel industry.
The UN climate summit ended on Wednesday with a compromise deal that called for
a “transition away” from fossil fuels. The stronger term “phase-out” had been
backed by 130 of the 198 countries negotiating in Dubai but was blocked by
petrostates including Saudi Arabia.
The deal was hailed as historic as it was the first citing of fossil fuels, the
root cause of the climate crisis, in 30 years of climate negotiations. But
scientists said the agreement contained many loopholes and did not match the
severity of the climate emergency.
“The lack of an agreement to phase out fossil fuels was devastating,” said Prof
Michael Mann, a climatologist and geophysicist at the University of
Pennsylvania in the US. “To ‘transition away from fossil fuels’ was weak tea at
best. It’s like promising your doctor that you will ‘transition away from
doughnuts’ after being diagnosed with diabetes.”
Dr Magdalena Skipper, the editor in chief of the science journal
Nature,
said: “The science is clear – fossil fuels must go. World leaders will fail
their people and the planet unless they accept this reality.”
An editorial in
Nature said the failure over the phase-out was “more than a
missed opportunity”, it was “dangerous” and ran “counter to the core goals laid
down in the 2015 Paris climate agreement” of limiting global heating to 1.5C
(2.7F) above preindustrial levels.
“The climate doesn’t care who emits greenhouse gases,” the editorial continued.
“There is only one viable path forward, and that is for everybody to phase out
almost all fossil fuels as quickly as possible.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
