By Ibrahim al-Khazen
ISTANBUL (AA) – Negotiators at the COP28 climate summit in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday agreed on a final draft agreement, urging nations for the first to move away from fossil fuels to avert the worst impacts of climate change.
The COP28 kicked off in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dubai, on Nov. 30 and was scheduled to close on Dec. 12 evening, but as negotiations didn't close the final session is expected to take place later today.
“Representatives from 197 countries, in addition to the European Union, at the COP28 on Wednesday approved the historic "UAE Consensus" on climate change,” UAE state news agency WAM said.
The draft final agreement text contains 196 articles over 21 pages, WAM added.
The draft agreement, described as a historic deal, is expected to mark for the first time that nations agree at a UN climate summit to explicitly address fossil fuels and the need to move away from oil, natural gas, and coal to limit global warming.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar