In U.N. vote, countries show willingness to move away from fossil fuels

The United Nations General Assembly adopted a global pact on Sunday that included explicit calls to phase out fossil fuels — which has been a stubborn sticking point in climate change talks for decades.

The call to move away from fossil fuels is outlined in the “Pact of the Future” — a broad plan for the U.N.'s 193 member nations to work together across a range of challenges, from escalating conflicts to rising poverty to climate change. Warning that inaction on various issues threatens to push people around the world “into a future of persistent crisis and breakdown,” the document also laid out a framework for digital cooperation and artificial intelligence governance.

In a press release, the U.N. said the agreement was years in the making. The goal was to address the problems of today, as well as anticipate the troubles of tomorrow. It was reached at the opening of the two-day “Summit of the Future" in advance of the 79th session of the U.N. General Assembly, which kicks off on Tuesday.

The provision echoes a commitment agreed by nations last year at the U.N. climate conference in Dubai. At the time, not everyone was happy with the final agreement. Critics of the deal said it lacked a clear path toward phasing out fossil fuels and pointed out a "litany of loopholes" in the final text.

While Sunday's pact outlines 56 broad actions to address the world's biggest challenges, the U.N. said "follow-up action" is needed to ensure that the commitments are followed through.

The U.N.'s call to action on fossil fuels

In the Pact of the Future, signatories agreed, "We are deeply concerned at the current slow pace of progress in addressing climate change," and they explicitly raised concerns with the continued growth of greenhouse gas emissions.

The pact called for reaffirmed commitment to the Paris climate agreement, which laid out goals to move away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy.

More specifically, it called for countries to "tripl[e] its renewable energy capacity globally and doubling the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030," as well as "accelerat[e] efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal power."

It also encouraged the spread of electric or other zero- to low-emission vehicles and urged countries to phase out fossil fuel subsidies "as soon as possible."

Climate activists applaud pact but say words are not enough

Alex Rafalowicz, executive director of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, applauded the pact for addressing fossil fuels, but added that national commitments are not enough and countries need to agree on a clear global plan on how to tackle fossil fuel production head-on.

“Neglecting to take decisive action on the root cause of the climate crisis is a lost opportunity to tackle one of the greatest threats of our time," Rafalowicz said in a statement. "The time for half-measures and false solutions has passed."

Romain Ioualalen, the global policy campaign manager for Oil Change international, said the pact's true impact will only come once countries devise plans on how to phase out fossil fuels. Ioualalen added that rich nations must lead the way.

"Only through concrete and binding financial commitments and rapid action to phase out fossil fuels can we secure a livable future within 1.5°C," Ioualalen said, referring to the global warming benchmark set by the Paris Agreement.

For International Climate Politics Hub director Catherine Abreu, fossil fuel phaseout is the "new standard for climate action" to which all countries should hold themselves accountable.

"From now on, any country claiming climate leadership will be put to this test: do you have a fossil fuel transition plan? And for rich producing countries, the test includes support for developing countries to make their transition," Abreu said in a statement.