After two weeks of intense collective negotiations on the climate crisis, the 198 countries participating in the 28th United Nations conference on climate change in Dubai approved the " Global Stocktake ", a balance of commitments which includes actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and which for the first time it puts down on paper the goal of reaching zero net emissions by 2050 .
A sort of fair "path", which however brings together the Paris agreements: that is, strengthening climate action to contain the increase in temperature and guarantee not to exceed the (previously agreed) limit of one and a half degrees of the average temperature compared to pre-industrial levels.
The approval was greeted with applause .
For Cop28 president al Jaber it is a " historic agreement " which for the first time mentions fossil fuels in the text and lays "the foundations for transformation".
Cop28 is "a reason to be optimistic in a world of conflicts , in Ukraine and in the Middle East", the comment of the US climate envoy, John Kerry . For the Italian minister Pichetto Fratin the agreement represents a " balanced and acceptable compromise for this historical phase".
THE SEVEN POINTS - The Global stocktake contains the indications to follow to "keep alive" the objective of an increase of no more than 1.5 degrees of global warming by the end of the century compared to pre-industrial levels and as suggested by science to avoid catastrophic weather events.
It is made up of seven points:
- transition away from fossil fuels and accelerate this action this decade to achieve net zero carbon emissions in 2050;
- triple renewable energy capacity globally and double the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvement by 2030;
- accelerate efforts towards the gradual reduction of energy produced from unabated coal , i.e. without capture and storage technology;
- accelerate global efforts towards net-zero emissions energy systems , using zero- and low-carbon fuels well before or around mid-century;
- accelerate in zero- and low-emission technologies , including but not limited to renewable energy, nuclear , abatement and removal technologies such as carbon capture, and use and storage, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors, and in hydrogen production low carbon emissions;
- accelerate and substantially reduce carbon dioxide emissions globally, including in particular methane emissions by 2030;
- accelerate the reduction of emissions from road transport on a range of routes, including through infrastructure development and the rapid deployment of zero- and low-emission vehicles;
- phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that do not address energy poverty or simply transitions, as quickly as possible.
(Unioneonline/vl)