摘要
On November 30,2023,amidst outrage over its leadership’s ties to the oil and gas industry[1],COP28—shorthand for the 28th United Nations(UN)“Conference of the Parties”Climate Change meeting—began in Dubai,United Arab Emirates(UAE).However,by the end of the conference on December 12,its attendees had surprisingly reached agreement on a handful of steps to address the challenges posed by climate change.The biggest surprise?Explicitly identifying fossil fuels as the root cause of climate change.For the first time in the summit’s 28-year history,delegates representing nearly 200 countries acknowledged the role of fossil fuels in driving climate change.They agreed to work on “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems,in a just,orderly,and equitable manner,accelerating action in this critical decade,so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science”[2].
