US ‘largely’ supports phasing out fossil fuels, John Kerry says at climate summit

John Kerry, President Biden’s special envoy for climate change, said Wednesday that the United States supported a phase-out of fossil fuels, his clearest statement yet on the U.S. position on one of the most intractable issues under discussion during the United Nations climate talks in Dubai. United Arab Emirates.

Mr. Kerry said that “majorly” ending the burning of coal, gas and oil was necessary to limit average global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, which many scientists say is necessary to prevent the most catastrophic consequences of climate change. The planet has already warmed by 1.2 degrees Celsius.

“We have to do what the science tells us to do, and the science has been clear,” Kerry told reporters gathered at a news conference at the summit, known as COP28, which started on November 30 and runs until December 12.

But he also said that to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, countries must deploy technology to capture and store carbon emissions from industries for which there are no low- or zero-carbon alternatives, such as steel and cement production .

There has been growing demand from some countries at the summit for an agreement to phase out fossil fuels. Small island states in particular say it is a matter of survival as rising seas due to climate change threaten to wash them away. Some European countries, including Germany, have made phasing out fossil fuels their main goal of COP28.

But Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing states resist any efforts to gradually reduce fossil fuels, let alone end use of the oil and gas that underpin their economies. Under UN rules, any agreement from the climate talks requires unanimous approval; any country can object and break the deal.

If countries agree in Dubai to phase out – or even phase out – fossil fuels, it would be historic. Previous UN climate agreements have shied away from even including the words “fossil fuels.” The closest the countries came was in Glasgow in 2021, when negotiators tried to include a “phase-out” of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, in the final deal, but China and India objected. They settled on a “phase-out” of coal-fired power plants that don’t have the technology to capture their emissions, but no timeline was set.

Two negotiators from developing countries said Wednesday that a group of countries led by Saudi Arabia and a separate bloc of Arab countries were blocking efforts by island nations to include language on phasing out fossil fuels in a final COP28 deal.

Mr. Kerry did not discuss a timeline for the end of fossil fuel use. He pointed to the science showing that countries need to cut global emissions by at least 43 percent from 2019 levels by the end of this decade if they hope to stop adding net emissions to the atmosphere by 2050. Instead, global emissions have continued to rise. .

“If you want to reduce emissions, and you actually want to reach the goal of net zero emissions by 2050, you have to do some phasing out,” Mr. Kerry said. “There is no other way to achieve that goal.”

Given heavy investments in wind, solar and other renewable energy by the United States and other countries, as well as the private sector, Mr. Kerry said it was inevitable that the global economy would move away from fossil fuels.

“We will achieve a global low-carbon, zero-carbon economy,” he said. “The only question is: will we get there in time to prevent the worst consequences of this crisis?”

Environmentalists praised the U.S. position.

“We think it’s good news, a positive sign that the U.S. government is ambitiously committed to the goal of decarbonizing the economy,” said David Nicholson, chief climate officer at Mercy Corps, a global aid organization. “There is still a long way to go.”

Jenny Gross reported from Dubai.