For the first time ever, the U.N. climate summit ended with a global agreement to transition away from fossil fuels. The deal was announced earlier today in Dubai as negotiations went into overtime, and hailed as “historic” by COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber.
While the agreement was welcomed as a step forward, climate activists and nations worst hit by the climate catastrophe warned it doesn’t go nearly far enough.
Anne Rasmussen of the Alliance of Small Island States called out fellow delegates for passing the agreement while representatives from the 39 states in her coalition were not in attendance, and noted some of the deal’s weaknesses. Rasmussen said: “We have come to the conclusion that the course correction that is needed has not been secured. We have made an incremental advancement over business as usual, when what we really needed is an exponential step change in our actions and support.”
