Talks soften stand on fossil fuel phase-out

GLASGOW: Negotiators at the Glasgow climate talks appeared to be backing away from a call to end all use of coal and phase out fossil fuel subsidies completely.


The latest draft proposals from the meeting’s chair released on Friday call on countries to accelerate “the phaseout of unabated coal power and of inefficient subsidies for fossil fuels”.


A previous proposal on Wednesday had been stronger, calling on countries to “accelerate the phasing out of coal and subsidies for fossil fuel”. The changes, if agreed, could give countries loopholes to continue burning coal and subsidise fossil fuels.

While the chair’s proposal is likely to undergo further negotiation at the talks, the change in wording suggested a shift away from unconditional demands that some fossil-fuel-exporting nations have objected to.

The question of how to address the continued use of fossil fuels, responsible for much of global warming, has been one of the key sticking points at the talks.