As North America slept, delegates from around the world concluded the global climate conference in Dubai, when the chair—local oilman Sultan al-Jaber—quick-gavelled through an agreement that included a sentence calling for “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner.”
That may not seem like much—it is, after all, the single most obvious thing one could possibly say about climate change…
And by itself it will accomplish nothing….
But it is—and this is important—a tool for activists to use henceforth. The world’s nations have now publicly agreed that they need to transition off fossil fuels, and that sentence will hang over every discussion from now on—especially the discussions about any further expansion of the fossil fuel energy.
Bill McKibben on the final COP 28 agreement by 190+ countries
Feature photo by Thijs Stoop on Unsplash
This super-sized One-Liner Wednesday is part of Linda’s long-running series. Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2023/12/13/one-liner-wednesday-how-do-i-know/
Joanne Corey 