On Wednesday, more than 200 nations from across the globe reached a new deal at the COP28 climate summit to reduce fossil fuel emissions worldwide.
The terms of the deal purportedly include “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner … so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science.”
However, the deal fell short of including hard language to “phase out” fossil fuels due to lobbying from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which controls approximately 80% of global oil reserves.
“This is a moment where multilateralism has actually come together and people have taken individual interests and attempted to define the common good,” said U.S. climate envoy John Kerry.