A record number of fossil fuel representatives are at this year's COP28 climate talks

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."One of the biggest debates at these climate talks will be around the future of fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal.

Participants at the climate talks are debating language to "phase out" fossil fuels versus language to "phase down" fossil fuels. Phasing out means moving away from oil, gas and coal to cleaner energy like solar and wind plus batteries — and sometimes hydropower and nuclear. Phasing down would leave a longer future for planet-heating energy sources.

Boykoff, who was a contributing author for the most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, notes that the science says a "phase out" of fossil fuels is necessary and urgent. The oil industry is arguing for a slower "phase down" of fossil fuels, delaying the transition to cleaner energy. "This is a big battle," Boykoff says.

At the 2022 climate talks in Egypt, major fossil fuel producing nations beat back efforts to issue a statement that would have called for a rapid cut in the use of fossil fuels.

"It's an irony not lost on anyone here at COP28 that as negotiators are working through the night to see if they can agree on fossil fuel phase-out or phase-down text, fossil fuel company representatives outnumber delegates from the most climate vulnerable countries several times over," says Jacqueline Peel, professor of law at the University of Melbourne and director of Melbourne Climate Futures, in an email from Dubai.

She adds: "The stakes for the climate are very high at this COP."