‘COP28 would be a failure if there is no clear text on fossil fuel phase out’
“If we cannot have the right wording on that critical issue, then we cannot characterise this COP as a success.”
Tuesday 12 December 2023 | 00:34
Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna in Expo City, Dubai. Photo: Inoke Rabonu
As the final plenary of COP28 is expected to be delivered today, the Pacific Islands Forum secretary general Henry Puna says if there is no clear working on the phase out of fossil fuel in this year’s outcomes document, then COP28 has failed us.
In an interview, on the margins of COP28 in Expo City, Dubai, Mr Puna said ‘We live in hope, I am optimist that something good will come out of this COP.’
He said for the Pacific, the absolute priority was staying on track to the 1.5 degrees.
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“We all know what is exacerbating the climate crisis, the gas emissions from fossil fuels and so our call for a fossil fuel-free Pacific to start with and a fossil fuel-free world is very, very important,” Mr Puna said.
“It’s good to see some of the major countries supporting this call, moving towards clean energy and moving away from fossil fuels,” he said.
“There is hope for us, but at the end of the day, we wait and see what comes out in the final communique. If there is no clear wording on the fossil fuel issue phase out, then I think we can see this COP as a failure.
“If we cannot have the right wording on that critical issue, then we cannot characterise this COP as a success.”
He said the signs were very clear, “unless the world corrects course, we are doomed”.
“The negotiators know what our absolute priority is. All I need to say to them is remember 1.5 to stay alive. It’s got to be the catch cry of the Pacific and that is what we want the world to hear and act on.”
As COP28 ends today, its president Sultan al-Jaber has urged delegates and negotiators from nearly 200 countries to work hard to reach a consensus before the scheduled end of the two-week summit.
“Let’s please get this job done. I need you to step up, and I need you to come out of your comfort zones,” he said.
“I kindly ask you all to be flexible, in the next few days we h a v e the potential to deliver a paradigm shift that can define global economies and our future and put the most vulnerable at the centre of climate action. Let this COP be remembered as a collective COP, a COP that changed the game.”
Feedback: inoke. rabonu@fijisun.com.fj
