Nations rally behind renewables at COP28 climate talks

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Nearly 120 nations pledged to triple the world's renewable energy within seven years at UN climate talks Saturday as the United States pushed to crank up nuclear capacity and slash methane emissions.

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 replace planet-heating coal, oil and gas and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

But COP28 negotiators face far tougher talks on the fate of fossil fuels over the next two weeks.

"Everyone stuck to their traditional positions," said one who spoke on condition of anonymity.

But on clean energy, more than half of all nations signed up to a commitment to triple global renewable capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030, the COP28's Emirati president said.

However, major oil producers including Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran did not join, nor is top consumer China on the list.

"I do need more, and I'm kindly requesting all parties to come on board as soon as possible please," COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber told delegates.

Clean power advocates welcomed the commitment but said it must be accompanied by the phaseout of dirtier forms of energy.

"The future will be powered by solar and wind, but it won't happen fast enough unless governments regulate fossil fuels out of the way," said Kaisa Kosonen, the head of Greenpeace's COP28 delegation.

Jaber also announced a pledge by oil and gas companies responsible for 40 percent of global production -- including Saudi giant Aramco and the UAE firm ADNOC he heads -- to decarbonise their operations by 2050 and curb methane emissions.

But the pledges do not include the pollution when the fuels are burned by their customers, and were criticised for repackaging previous, non-binding commitments.

"This charter is proof that voluntary commitments from the oil and gas industry will never foster the level of ambition necessary to tackle the climate crisis," said Melanie Robinson of the World Resources