More than 110 nations rally behind renewables at Cop28 climate talks
- Leaders at the Cop28 summit pledge to triple the world’s renewable energy within seven years, but clean-power advocates say the commitment must be accompanied by the phase-out of dirtier forms of energy
- The US also led a call by more than 20 nations for the world to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050, amid warnings about safety risks and disposal of nuclear waste
More than 110 nations pledged to triple the world’s renewable energy within seven years at United Nations climate talks on Saturday, as the United States pushed to slash methane emissions and boost nuclear capacity.
With smoggy skies in Dubai highlighting the challenges facing the world, leaders at the Cop28 conference threw their support behind voluntary pledges aimed at ramping up alternatives to fossil fuels.
A massive deployment of solar, wind, hydroelectric and other renewables is crucial to efforts to displace demand for planet-heating coal, oil and gas and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The nearly 200 nations negotiating a Cop28 climate deal face tougher talks over the next two weeks on the fate of fossil fuels.
More than half signed up to a commitment to tripling global renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030, the Cop28’s Emirati presidency said.
But major oil producers including Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran, and top consumer China were not on the list.
