COP28: Suicide Is Not an Option for Developing Countries

An explosion of fury followed the presentation on Dec. 11 of the draft communique to COP28 proposed by its president, Sultan Al Jaber, Industry Minister of the United Arab Emirates. It contained no mention of the phase-out or phase-down of fossil fuels, just called on countries to take actions to reduce emissions. Annalena Baerbock, who is EU negotiator on emissions reduction, was bursting with indignation at such an “upstart”, vowing that the EU would never sign on to such a document. And she was not the only one among the developed countries. Therefore, the negotiations were prolonged and the haggling continued. The statement finally adopted only calls for a “transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems”, and that, “in keeping with the science”.

However, to get a flavor of the reaction of the climate change crazies to the proceedings in Dubai, it suffices to read the assessment given by its their former guru and “savior of the polar bears”, Al Gore. He launched a desperate call on Dec. 11 on his X account:

“COP28 is now on the verge of complete failure. The world desperately needs to phase out fossil fuels as quickly as possible, but this obsequious draft reads as if OPEC dictated it word for word. It is even worse than many had feared. It is ‘Of the Petrostates, By the Petrostates and For the Petrostates.’

“It is deeply offensive to all who have taken this process seriously. There are 24 hours left to show whose side the world is on: the side that wants to protect humanity’s future by kickstarting the orderly phase out of fossil fuels or the side of the petrostates and the leaders of the oil and gas companies that are fueling the historic climate catastrophe. In order to prevent COP28 from being the most embarrassing and dismal failure in 28 years of international climate negotiations, the final text must include clear language on phasing out fossil fuels.”