According to the news released by the United Nations WeChat***, one day after "extra time", the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (abbreviation: COP28) closed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on the 13th local time. The conference was scheduled to conclude on December 12, but delegates failed to reach an agreement on the future of fossil fuels before the deadline for negotiations. That evening, delegates engaged in intense negotiations over whether the text included "phase-down" or "phase-out" of fossil fuels, forcing the conference to be "postponed".
Eventually, delegates agreed on a roadmap for the transition away from fossil fuels, for the first time in the history of the United Nations Climate Change Conference. The conference reached an important milestone in reaching the "UAE Consensus" on the first global stocktake of the Paris Agreement, mitigation, adaptation, finance, loss and damage, and just transition. However, the long-term call for a "phase-out of oil, coal and natural gas" is not directly mentioned in the agreement.
We should be proud of our historic achievement," COP28 President Sultan Jaber said in his speech at the closing plenary session of the day, adding that the agreement reached that day "is a strengthened, balanced, but undoubtedly historic package to accelerate climate action, which is the UAE Consensus".
UN Secretary-General António Guterres: The science is clear.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that after years of obstacles, "fossil fuels" are finally mentioned in the outcome document as the main cause of climate change. He stressed that the fossil fuel era must end in a just and equitable manner.
In his statement, Guterres said that the global temperature rise will be limited to 1Less than 5 is one of the milestone goals of the Paris Agreement, and more and more countries are recognizing that all fossil fuels must be phased out if this is to be achieved.
Negotiators at this session also pledged to triple renewable energy capacity, double energy efficiency by 2030, and make progress on climate adaptation and financing.
Guterres said that despite very limited financial commitments, other progress has been made on climate adaptation and finance, including putting loss and damage** into operation.
But he stressed that more needs to be done to bring climate justice to those on the front lines of the crisis.
"Many fragile countries are deeply troubled by debt and are at risk of being inundated by rising seas," he said. There is an urgent need for substantial financial resources, including for climate adaptation, loss and damage, and reform of the international financial architecture. ”
He pointed out that "procrastination, hesitation or half-assess" on climate issues will only have more serious consequences for the world. He insisted that "multilateralism remains humanity's best hope".
UNFCCC Executive Secretary Steele: It's a lifeline, not a finish line.
Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said there had been "real progress" at the COP, but that the agreement adopted was a "lifeline" for global climate action, not a "finish line".
The Global Stocktake, which aims to help countries adjust their climate action plans to implement the Paris Agreement, has made it clear that global climate action is not fast enough, Steele saidBut there's no denying that the pace of progress is picking up.
He stressed that, despite this, at the current trajectory, global warming will be just below 3 by the end of the century, which will still cause great human suffering, so this climate conference needs to push for stronger measures.
Speaking to reporters outside the main venue, Steele said COP28 needed to send a stern signal to stop humanity's core climate problem, namely "fossil fuels and their global warming effects."
While this climate conference does not turn the page on the fossil fuel era, it is clear that this outcome is the beginning of the end of fossil fuels. ”
Other highlights of the conference:
On the first day of the conference, countries agreed on loss and damage** aimed at supporting developing countries that are vulnerable to climate impacts. To date, hundreds of millions of dollars have been pledged for the **;
Commit to a $3.5 billion increase in green climate**;
More than 1$500 million;
The World Bank announced an annual increase of $9 billion in 2024 and 2025 to finance climate-related projects
Nearly 120 countries have signed the Declaration on Climate and Health to accelerate action to protect people's health from the impacts of increasing climate change;
More than 130 countries have signed the UAE Declaration on Resilient Food Systems, Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Action to support food security while tackling climate change
Sixty-six countries have ratified the Global Cooling Pledge to reduce cooling-related emissions by 68% from current levels from today.
Follow-up plans. Countries should submit their next round of national climate action plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions, in 2025, at which point countries are expected to significantly strengthen their actions and commitments.
Azerbaijan has received support from Eastern European countries to host COP29, which will be held from 11 to 22 November 2024, following the withdrawal of Armenia's bid to host its own bid.
Brazil has announced that it will host COP30 in the Amazon region in 2025.
Reactions were mixed. 
This year's conference has attracted great attention from the international community, attracting more than 110,000 people to register to attend. As many parties believed that the text of the previous version of the agreement "could not fully respond to their concerns", and that the views were "seriously opposed" and failed to reach a consensus before the original planned closing time, the climate negotiations entered the "overtime" stage from noon local time on the 12th.
Zhao Yingmin, head of the Chinese delegation and vice minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said in an interview with reporters that the first global climate inventory has opened a new chapter in the global climate process, summarized the achievements and gaps, further consolidated the global irreversible green and low-carbon transformation trend, pointed out the direction for the future, and sent a strong positive signal to the international community, which is an important milestone.
Despite repeated applause in the plenary, not all delegations were satisfied with the final agreement of the climate talks. Representatives of civil society, climate activists and delegations from small island developing States said the outcome of the talks was nothing but unsatisfactory.
The representative of Samoa and Chair of AOSIS, Anne Rasmussen, noted that the decision had been finalized during their absence from the plenary, while AOSIS was still coordinating its response to the text.
She expressed disappointment that "the process has failed us" and that they could not return to their islands with such news.
Emphasizing the importance of the global stocktake, she said: "This first global stocktake is of particular importance because it is to ensure that we can still limit global warming to 1.."The only global inventory within 5. ”
Rasmussen lamented the lack of a "corrective course" and expressed disappointment that "everything is still progressing at the same pace as it has been". "What we really need is larger, faster-shifting climate action and support," she stressed.
Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy at the International Climate Action Network, told UN News after the final agreement was announced: "After decades of avoidance, COP28 has finally opened the spotlight on the real culprits of the climate crisis: fossil fuels. It is long overdue for us to make the move away from coal, oil and gas.
However, the resolution has many loopholes that provide the fossil fuel industry with various evasion avenues that rely on unproven and unsafe technologies. ”
Singh also noted that he sees the hypocrisy of wealthy countries "as they continue to massively expand their fossil fuel business and pay lip service to the green transition".
He stressed that developing countries that are still dependent on fossil fuels are not guaranteed adequate financial support to achieve an "urgent and equitable transition to renewable energy".
He added: "While this climate conference recognises that there is a huge funding gap in tackling climate impacts, it is disappointing that the end result fails to force rich countries to meet their fiscal responsibilities. ”
The Paper, for more original information, please **"The Paper" app).