Germany proposed setting an aspirational renewables target on Tuesday during the 14th Petersburg Climate Dialogue, said Annalena Baerbock, German Foreign Minister.

Baerbock highlighted the necessity of sharply cutting greenhouse gas emissions. This is crucial to reach the global warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius. She said the next climate conference, COP28, “must be to ring in the end of the fossil fuel age.”

Sultan al-Jaber, appointed president of Dubai’s COP28, said transitioning from the current energy system should be done in two parallel courses. The proposed plan is to “decarbonise the current energy system while we build a new one,” Al-Jaber said.

“What we need to see coming out of COP28 is not just about fossil fuel phaseout, but equitable phaseout of fossil fuels,” Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy at Climate Action Network International added.

Environmental activists have also referred to the need to find alternative jobs for workers in the dirty energy sectors. Besides, it is also needed to find alternative sources of energy to those dependent on cheap fossil fuels.

Pakistan’s Climate Minister Sherry Rehman outlined the need “to move forward on finding paths to climate financing… to countries that are in need.” Loss and Damage Fund approved last year at COP27 is still being set up.

Officials representing around 40 countries are gathered in Berlin to participate in the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, which held between 1 to 3 May,as the Climate Dialogue aims to “facilitate the negotiations leading up to COP28.”

It is worth mentioning that UN Climate Change Conference will convene from 30 November to 12 December 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), as Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, has been appointed to serve as COP28 President-Designate.