Here are 5 key takeaways from the COP28 climate summit

The COP28 climate summit in Dubai ended with a deal that saw a commitment to transition away from all fossil fuels for the first time, as Dr Sultan al-Jaber, the president of this year’s climate talks, sought to produce a text that would include a commitment to reduce the world’s consumption of oil and gas for the first time.

On Wednesday morning, negotiators released a draft agreement calling on nations to swiftly transition away from using fossil fuels.

The COP28 agreement, which has mostly received positive reactions from different quarters, represents a more forceful assertion of the world’s commitment to cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Here are the top five key takeaways from the latest draft of the COP28 agreement:

1. The climate negotiators recognise that limiting global warming to 1.5 °C with no or limited overshoot requires deep, rapid and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 43 per cent by 2030 and 60 per cent by 2035 relative to the 2019 level and reaching net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
2. The parties agreed to triple renewable energy capacity globally and double the world average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030. In one of the most widely supported initiatives, 118 governments pledged to triple the world’s renewable energy capacity by 2030 at the COP28 climate summit as part of a broader strategy to cut the share of fossil fuels in energy production.
3. The group highlighted the growing gap between the needs of the Global South, as the sufficient flow of finance is essential if the world is going to come anywhere close to reaching the goals laid down in the Paris Agreement. Developing nations require as much as $5.9tn for the pre-2030 period to alleviate the impact of climate change, which is being compounded by difficult macroeconomic circumstances. The UAE created a $30bn climate fund for global climate solutions to bridge the climate finance gap while banks in the country pledged $270bn (Dhs1tn) in green finance by 2030.
4. Furthermore, the climate negotiators projected that the adaptation finance needs of the Global South stand at between $215 – 387bn annually until 2030, and as much as $4.3tn per year needs to be invested in renewable energy over the next seven years.
5. Finally, the parties acknowledged that climate change has already caused and will increasingly cause losses and damages and as temperatures are soaring, the impacts of climate change and extreme weather will pose an ever-greater social, economic and environmental threat.

Read: Groundbreaking COP28 proposal calls for ‘transitioning away from fossil fuels’