Energy experts are criticizing the recent United Nations (UN) agreement to completely eliminate global reliance on fossil fuels, asserting that it poses a threat to American national and energy security. The deal, announced during the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, marked the first UN agreement of its kind, calling for nations to transition “away from fossil fuels.”
(Photo: Mahmoud Khaled / COP28 via Getty Images)
Expert Criticisms
Critics, including American Energy Institute CEO Jason Isaac, argue that the UN’s focus on projected temperature changes is fearmongering. Isaac emphasized the essential role of fossil fuels in providing reliable electricity and criticized the impracticality of the proposed transition.
Isaac raised concerns about the Biden administration’s stance on Iranian oil sanctions, highlighting the flow of oil to China. He dismissed the COP28 agreement, stating it “won’t be worth the paper it’s printed on” based on past failures to meet UN climate objectives.
Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry defended the agreement, calling it a significant piece of “climate action.” He acknowledged it as a compromise but emphasized its alignment with market decisions, signaling a move away from fossil fuels.
READ ALSO:Â Energy experts bash John Kerry’s UN deal to shut down fossil fuels
Agreement Highlights
The main goal of the deal is to cut down on carbon pollution so that global warming stays below 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. It wants to triple the amount of green energy that can be used by 2030, stop making electricity from coal, encourage people to buy electric cars, support carbon capture technology, and stop giving money to companies that use fossil fuels.
Some people, like Steve Milloy, said that COP28 was just another one of many UN deals that didn’t work. He said that emissions had gone up by 50% after 28 UN climate talks and that there were no binding promises to cut emissions or use fossil fuels.
Power the Future, a group that fights for energy workers, said that the deal would hurt American energy and that it was mostly just for political reasons. Daniel Turner, who started the UN, said that leaders like Joe Biden were pushing a bad plan.
READ ALSO:Â COP28 climate delegates agree to ‘transition away’ from fossil fuels
