Climate summit makes ‘historic progress’ — but the world still can’t quit oil

Climate talks in Dubai ended with a deal to curb the use of fossil fuels that was both historic and 30 years too late.

The two-week conference, held in the oil-rich desert kingdom of the United Arab Emirates and presided over by an oil CEO, brought two competing realities into a painful collision. The planet is overheating, yet humanity remains inextricably reliant on coal, oil and natural gas.

The talks ended on Wednesday with a deal among almost 200 countries that committed to “transitioning away from fossil fuels,” notably by speeding up that shift before 2030. But the agreement also appeased oil-rich Gulf states by explicitly sanctioning those fuels’ use during the transition. And organizers gaveled it through so hastily that representatives for vulnerable island nations, who had a series of misgivings about the text, had yet to enter the room.

Still, leaders of the U.N. summit and representatives of major governments were quick to endorse the nonbinding pact as a historic acknowledgment that the world needs to move quickly to cleaner energy sources.

“This document sends very strong messages to the world,” said U.S. climate envoy John Kerry, who had placed his personal credibility on the line by backing the controversial choice of oil CEO Sultan al-Jaber to oversee the conference.