For the first time, countries meeting at the 28th U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties, or COP 28, in Dubai called for a “transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems.”
U.N. Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said the decision signals “the beginning of the end” of the fossil fuel era. But for low- and middle-income countries, the economic transformation away from coal, oil, and gas can only materialize with adequate financing to create alternative development plans.
With governments strangled by debt and ballooning costs to adapt and recover from climate impacts, establishing a new global climate finance compact for vulnerable nations will dominate this year’s climate agenda and COP 29 in Azerbaijan in November.