BELÉM, BRAZIL : Avril De Torres, Deputy Executive Director, Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED)
“It took decades for the need to transition away from fossil fuels to be named at COP28. It’s a grave injustice that two years later, historical polluters are still blocking progress in ending the era of fossil fuels by withholding commitment to pay up their climate debt to the Global South on all fronts. While we welcome the acknowledgement of the need to address the interlinked crises of climate, biodiversity loss, and degradation of ecosystems, as well as the inclusion of a new mechanism for a just transition, these are gravely undermined by a failure to stop continued destruction caused by coal, gas, and oil.
The greatest win out of Belém comes from outside the negotiation halls – from the communities and indigenous peoples who stood up for their homes and the survival of their people, and from Global Southern leaders who called for a roadmap to a fossil-free future even beyond official texts.
Initiatives such as those led by Colombia give us hope that an era of real action and accountability is underway outside of the COPs. We simply cannot wait while our peoples drown and the world burns.
Meanwhile, the Philippines, to the very end, failed to champion the Filipino people’s need for a path away from dirty, deadly, and costly fossil fuels. They came to an NDC COP empty handed; they come home the same way, with no fight for a fossil-free and renewable-powered future to report back to our people. This delegation missed the opportunity to be on the right side of climate history.”
