The number one culprit behind climate change is fossil fuels. And this week, nearly 200 countries made a first-ever deal to start cutting down on them, in what could be a gamechanger for the planet’s health.

The agreement, struck at the COP28 climate talks in Dubai after a fortnight of fierce negotiations, “basically signals the end of the fossil fuel era”, said chief climate risk strategist Soenke Kreft of the United Nations University - Institute for Environmental and Human Security. 

Why is the deal so important?

Fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – account for more than 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and nearly 90 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions. 

With emissions continuing to rise, scientists believe the world may cross the crucial 1.5 degrees Celsius global warming limit – as called for in the Paris Agreement – in seven years.

Breaching that threshold could lead to extreme weather patterns such as longer heatwaves and more intense storms. 

Already, 2023 has been confirmed as the hottest year on record, due to a combination of global warming and the El Nino effect. 

Thousands have died this year due to extreme heat, wildfires, storms and floods linked to climate change.

Emissions need to be reduced by 45 per cent by 2030, observers stress, if we want to avert the worst consequences of the climate crisis.

“As things currently stand, we're going to increase them by almost 10 per cent. So we're not on course,” said Mr Tom Burke, co-founder and chairman of climate change think-tank E3G. “We really do have to do a lot more if we're going to stay below 1.5 (degrees Celsius).”

And that means taking “giant leaps” instead of baby steps to accelerate the transition towards clean energy, he added.

What are some issues with the agreement?

While hailed by many global leaders as a step forward, the deal lacks fixed timelines and allows for plenty of interpretive wiggle room, experts said.

“A transition away from fossil fuels in the energy system, which is the precise wording there, differs a lot from the maximum claim of a fossil fuel phase out,” said Professor Frank Jotzo, head of energy at the Australian National University's Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions.