THE GUARDIAN
The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) rounded off yesterday, with an agreement that signals an end to the fossil fuel era via laying ground for a swift, just and equitable transition, underpinned by deep emission cuts and improved financing.
In a demonstration of global solidarity, negotiators from nearly 200 parties came together in Dubai with a decision on the world’s first ‘global stock take (GST)’ to scale up climate action before the end of the decade and an overarching target to keep global temperature limit within 1.5°C.
The GST is considered the central outcome of the meeting – as it contained every element that was under negotiation – and can be used by countries to develop stronger climate action plans by 2025.
It recognised that global greenhouse gas emissions must be cut by 43 per in 2030.
In the short-term, parties were encouraged to come forward with ambitious, economy-wide emission reduction targets, covering greenhouse gases, sectors and categories that aligned with the 1.5°C limit in their next round of climate action plans (known as nationally determined contributions) by 2025.
Chair of the Least Developed Countries Group, Madeleine Diouf Sarr, noted: “This outcome is not perfect, we expected more. It reflects the very lowest possible ambition that we could accept rather than what we know.
