What are the loopholes in the COP28 climate deal?

At COP28, nations struck a historic deal to transition the global economy away from fossil fuels, but some delegations and environmental groups say it contains major loopholes. This article explains three of them: carbon capture, transitional fuels, and energy systems.

Nations struck a historic deal on Wednesday at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai to transition the global economy away from fossil fuels. But some delegations and environmental groups say it contains major loopholes that could keep oil, gas, and coal flowing indefinitely.

One of them is the inclusion of a phrase calling for accelerated deployment of carbon capture.

Carbon capture is a technology that would theoretically allow users of oil gas and coal to keep their emissions from reaching the atmosphere by capturing them at the source, and storing them permanently underground.

Lots of people are skeptical about carbon capture. It is expensive and has yet to be proven at the scale needed to impact climate change. And environmental groups call it a false flag that justifies continued drilling.

On the other hand, if it ever did manage to get off the ground, it would allow for ongoing production and consumption of fossil fuels, presumably without a climate impact.

That does not sit well with some countries – especially those most vulnerable to the impacts of warming.

“We are being asked to endorse technologies that could result in actions that undermine our efforts,” said Anne Rasmussen, lead negotiator of the Alliance of Small Island States.