'Transition' from fossil fuels must be more than pledge
By Elizabeth Shackelford / For the Chicago Tribune
As the 28th annual United Nations climate change conference, known by its acronym COP28, wrapped up last week, diplomats and activists rejoiced. In a historic first, nearly 200 countries signed an agreement to “transition away from fossil fuels.”
A decade or two ago, this might have been reason to celebrate, but the impact climate change has already caused should have set off a five-alarm fire. Anything short of consensus on urgent action won’t meet the moment.
We continue to compromise our climate change response at our peril. This was the hottest year on record, with deadly heat and humidity in parts of the United States and the Middle East and record ocean temperatures. Unprecedented wildfires shut people indoors thousands of miles away from the flames due to dangerous air pollution. Catastrophic storms and flooding hit Libya, India and the United States, while Chile and countries in the Horn of Africa saw their worst droughts in decades. All of this is causing trillions of dollars in economic costs and losses and massive human suffering.
It’s easy to understand why COP28’s agreement was welcome news though. This year’s climate conference was fraught, and expectations low. After all, the host country, the United Arab Emirates, is one of the world’s biggest oil and gas producers.
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