Climate Activists Outraged as COP28 Draft Text Drops Call for Fossil Fuel Phaseout

At the COP28 U.N. climate summit, a draft agreement released Monday omits a call to phase out fossil fuels, proposing reductions" instead. The United States, Canada and other rich countries have loudly championed a phaseout but are simultaneously approving new oil and gas projects eating up the planet's remaining carbon budget, says Meena Raman, head of programs at Third World Network and president of Friends of the Earth Malaysia. Developed countries must take the lead, and they must end fossil fuel production and consumption now, not in 2030, 2040 or 2050," Raman says. We also speak with South African climate and energy expert Tasneem Essop, who says any phaseout of fossil fuels must be just and equitable," giving poorer countries room to develop and putting the onus on the rich Global North to decarbonize first.