The first-of-its-kind agreement, signed by more than 200 nations, needs to be strengthened, and requires action to hold elected officials accountable

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – After nearly two weeks of contentious negotiations, nations at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly known as COP28, have signed a historic agreement to “transition away” from fossil fuels and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Russell Armstrong, senior director of campaigns and advocacy at the Hip Hop Caucus, issued the following statement in response to the news.

“COP28 was different from prior years. While the outcome may not have presented a full phase out from fossil fuels, it did signal a sea change that people – Black, Brown, Indigenous, Youth, Developing and Sea Island peoples – when united can affect change.

Throughout the last two plus weeks, Hip Hop Caucus was on the ground standing side by side with peoples from the Gulf South to the Global South demanding a fair, fast, and full phase out from fossil fuels. We met with diplomats and disruptors, organizing in hallways and hotel lobbies. The agreed-upon text is the first time in 28 conferences of the parties that all fossil fuels – coal, oil, and gas – have been mentioned and called for being transitioned away from. In the final hours, leaders from hundreds of countries pushed back against fossil fuel lobbyists and the minority of fossil fuel states trying to line their pockets at the expense of humankind. There is hope for a future for our communities. Now we have to take the fight back home and push our elected leaders to deliver.” 

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