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00:00 Editor Valerie DeKimp joins me now on the set to break this new deal down.
00:03 First of all, Valerie, what exactly is in the agreement?
00:05 Well, as you were saying, for the first time in 30 years of history of UN climate summits,
00:11 we have a final text and decision that explicitly mentions fossil fuels.
00:17 And at the beginning of the conference, there was a lot of momentum on a potentially a fossil
00:23 fuel phase out.
00:24 That means ending the use of fossil fuels.
00:27 That was eventually dropped from the text, a major disappointment for a lot of people.
00:32 But in this final text, crucial language on fossil fuels was nonetheless strengthened.
00:38 And this is what we have now, calling on nations to transition away from fossil fuels in a
00:45 just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade to achieve
00:52 net zero emissions by 2050.
00:55 A lot of things to unpack there in that crucial paragraph of the text, because in the latest,
01:01 the last version that we had of the draft, it mentioned reducing production and the consumption
01:08 of fossil fuels.
01:10 But again, no phase out, no phase down.
01:13 What we have now is still more ambitious than actually just reducing production and consumption,
01:19 because you have this idea of moving away, of leaving an old system behind and potentially
01:25 ushering a new era of cleaner energy.
01:28 So you have that shift there.
01:31 The fact that it also says just and equitable manner is a nod to developing nations, which
01:37 had been demanding, you know, different pathways for different countries.
01:41 The fact that developed nations responsible for the vast majority of emissions and the
01:46 climate crisis move away from fossil fuels before the rest of the world.
01:50 Again, it is more of a vague call because it doesn't give you a timeline.
01:56 But you know, you have that in that statement and also accelerating efforts this decade.
02:01 So it gives us, you know, a sense of urgency and of course, net zero by 2050.
02:06 So that's for fossil fuels.
02:08 You also mentioned renewable energy and other other objectives.
02:13 Part of a key energy package also included in the final text, tripling renewable energy
02:19 by 2030, doubling energy efficiency by 2050.
02:23 And what's important here is that, again, the language was strengthened overnight because
02:29 before we had just, you know, that list of things that governments could do with the
02:35 wording that nations could do.
02:38 And now we have that, you know, it calls on nations to actually do that.
02:42 It is, you know, a slight difference, but it is essentially, you know, the fine print
02:47 of that is what takes us from a deal that was unacceptable for countries yesterday to
02:52 a deal that was approved by countries.
02:54 200 countries approving that deal.
02:57 Have there been reactions so far coming in?
02:58 A lot of reactions as countries are still, you know, addressing the plenary floor and
03:05 kind of giving their reactions to this deal and their final remarks.
03:09 We heard from U.N. climate chief Simon Steele saying this was the beginning of the end for
03:15 fossil fuels.
03:17 Similar reaction from Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission,
03:22 also with that notion of the beginning of the end for the fossil fuel era.
03:27 A reaction from French environment minister who said it was a victory for multilateralism
03:33 and climate diplomacy.
03:36 Several nations, EOSIS, they issued a statement saying that the final text was an improvement
03:43 from what we had, but they do see, quote, a litany of loopholes.
03:48 And so we are getting also mixed reactions from NGOs because they are stating the fact
03:54 that this is an important moment, historic, and the fact that it's mentioning fossil fuels
03:59 for the first time.
04:01 And you know, those loopholes, the fact that carbon capture storage technology is in the
04:07 text essentially saying countries could capture, you know, emissions and store them underground
04:14 and potentially keep using fossil fuels.
04:16 And also the fact that there is no clear plan and financial means in order to help developing
04:22 nations move away from fossil fuels.