Youth activists, scientists and negotiators call for equitable fossil phase-out at Bonn climate talks

Greta Thunberg, Climate Justice Activist, Sweden

“It will be impossible for us to stick to the 1.5-degree limit without a rapid, equitable fossil fuel phase out. If we don’t, it will be a death sentence to countless of people and it is already a death sentence to countless of people living on the front lines of the climate crisis today,” said the activist at the press briefing.

She added: “The scientists have been warning us, but their warnings have been drowned in greenwashing and lies from people in power – we’re still rushing towards the cliff. We are at the verge of potential tipping points that once we pass them there might be no going back. We might trigger feedback loops beyond human control and throw countless of people, billions of people under the bus.”

Claire Fyson, Co-Head of the Climate Policy Team, Climate Analytics

“By 2030, we need to be installing new wind and solar at least five times faster than we did last year. As we ramp up renewables, we can’t forget the elephant in the negotiating room – fossil fuels. Global fossil fuel production needs to peak now and drop at least 6% per year, heading for a phase out by mid-century, if we are to limit warming to 1.5°C.”

Tina Stege, Climate Envoy for the Republic of the Marshall Islands

“My family and friends in the Marshall Islands, and young people everywhere, share a dangerous uncertain future. The rest of the world needs to wake up to our reality and phase out fossil fuels.”

Eric Njuguna, Climate Justice Organizer, Kenya

“We need to stop all new oil and gas exploration and phase out existing ones. And Yes, this includes Global south countries which cannot afford to follow the same extractive, carbon intensive and unfair development pathways that the global north countries have used for decades. This is whilst massively investing in people led renewable energy projects.”

Alden Meyer, Senior Associate, E3G

“COP28 President-Designate Al Jaber’s statement that “the phasedown of fossil fuels is inevitable” is an acknowledgement of the need to break the world’s destructive addiction to fossil fuels. But much more work remains to be done to land an agreement at COP28 on a roadmap for a just and equitable reduction of fossil fuel production and use in a time frame that’s consistent with the Paris 1.5C goal.

The next step must be for Dr. Al Jaber to commit to providing an open, transparent, and inclusive process at COP28 to discuss the need to phase out all fossil fuels, in contrast with the approach the Egyptian presidency took at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, which was to block any discussion of this issue.”

Sebastián Carranza, Head of Delegation, Colombia

“We are trying to raise our voice for these structural principles that need to change at global level and are not sufficiently discussed. It’s not an easy decision for a country [dependent on fossil fuels] but we must do it; move from a fossil fuels-based economy to a
biodiversity-based one. We need to take care of biodiversity, nature, voulnerable people. This is where Colombia’s proposal comes from.”

Dan Jørgensen, Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy, Denmark

A written statement from Dan Jørgensen was read out during the conference, he also provided the following quote:

“Recent reports have made it clear that if we are to reach the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement, the fossil era needs to come to an end. This is why Denmark has set an end date for our oil and gas production by 2050 through the North Sea Agreement in 2020. And why we are pushing for global action through the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA), which promotes a managed and just phase out of oil and gas production. The issue is now being brought up regularly in the intergovernmental climate dialogues, in a way we haven’t experienced before. We are experiencing growing momentum behind this agenda, including from COP27, where around 80 countries supported a reference to fossil fuel phase out.”

Watch the full press conference