Climate & Environment

Ireland and EU will not accept COP28 pact in its current form, Eamon Ryan says

Tensions over the reference to fossil fuels in the agreement heats up with less than 24 hour to the summits end

COP28: If the current language on fossil fuels stays, it would mark the first time in nearly three decades that a call to reduce fossil fuels made it into the final deal at a United Nations climate summit. Picture: Fergal Phillips

Eamon Ryan, the minister for the environment, has said that Ireland and the EU will not accept the draft text of the COP28 agreement, as global leaders hold firm on including reference to fossil fuels in the pact.

There is widespread dismay at the summit - which will finish on Tuesday - after publication of a draft text which makes no reference to a phase-out of fossil fuels.

The text, which came hours later than ...