Dan McGrail, chief executive, RenewableUK:

“Transitioning away from fossil fuels as fast as possible is essential, not only to keep us on track for net zero, but also because it enables us to generate electricity at the lowest cost for billpayers, as wind and solar are our cheapest sources of new power. It’s good to see the agreement calls for a trebling of global renewable energy capacity by 2030 and that it specifically states that accelerating action over the course of this decade is critical to reaching our climate change goals.
“Even though today’s agreement represents an important milestone, many countries would have liked the text to go further. The UK remains a global leader in a wide range of renewable technologies, but to maintain our lead, we will need to maximise the amount of clean energy capacity we secure in every annual CfD auction to meet the government’s targets and grow new high-tech supply chains throughout the country”.

Rachel Solomon Williams, executive director, Aldersgate Group:
“COP28’s final text makes progress in some areas, but overall does not deliver the decisive action that is required to limit warming to 1.5C. World governments must increase ambition and create robust policy frameworks that enable the private sector to invest and accelerate emissions reductions.
“In many cases businesses are now moving faster than governments on climate, but to support a 1.5C trajectory effectively they need certainty and a commitment to action. It’s time for governments to show they can enable that through domestic targets and implementation plans.”

Dr Nina Skorupska, Chief Executive, Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology:

“For the first time in three decades of climate negotiations, the words fossil fuels have featured in a COP outcome, which is indeed a historic moment and emphasises that the time for renewables is now.
“While grateful that this text has entered the agreement, I am wary of how each nation will pursue what they believe are courses of actions. We must all now be vigilant in holding our world leaders, including the UK, to account.
“The next time we will have a view of this progress with clear data as part of the Global Stock Take will not be until 2025 in Brazil.
“Therefore, moving forward the REA will encourage the UK Government to ensure this call is delivered in domestic policy, with clear pathways that phase out unabated fossil fuels. This is absolutely crucial for maintaining any sense of UK leadership on the global stage.”

Global Renewables Alliance:
“A few years ago, a global renewables target would have been inconceivable. The fact that this is included in final COP text – in a historically oil & gas country – is an unequivocal signal that renewables are in, and fossil fuels are out.
“This is the first time in the history of COP that the final text has specifically noted the important role of solar and wind as an cost-competitive and innovative technology key to achieving climate targets, as well as recognition of need to transition away from fossil fuels. This is a big win for the renewables industry, and a big win for climate action.
“But ‘recognizing’ and ‘calling upon’ is not the same as ‘acting’. The final outcomes still lacks commitment and deadlines to urgently empower countries to rapidly phase out fossil fuels and replace with renewables. And this should not be with technologies that allow for business as usual like gas and CCSU, which are shockingly included in this text as low carbon or transitional technologies.
“This text still leaves too many backdoors for countries to escape from taking meaningful action. But where governments fall short, the renewables industry can pick up the slack. While there has been unprecedented support for scaling-up renewables and phasing out fossil fuels, some governments still need to wake up to market realities, and the new economics of energy…”

Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP, chair, Environmental Audit Committee Chair:
“The penny has dropped at COP and all nations have agreed to move away from fossil fuels and to phase down the use of unabated coal power. While it’s disappointing there was not agreement to phase out fossil fuels, the final agreement recognises that the days of oil, gas and coal powering global economies are numbered. The world has agreed to transition to a decarbonised global economy.
“As the Committee made clear in its report on accelerating the transition from fossil fuels, the UK must approach the low carbon future with enthusiasm and unwavering commitment. By switching off fossil fuels at the current time we risk energy instability: so every effort must now be made to find reliable low carbon energy and effective energy storage to keep the lights on throughout the year. This is critical for the UK to do its part in keeping global temperatures below 1.5 degrees C.
“I would like to pay tribute to the UK delegation that has worked tirelessly with partners to reach agreement: the first such COP agreement where all nations have agreed a transition away from all fossil fuels.
“Now all nations must put their words into action. I am encouraged to note the agreements between the UAE Presidency and Brazil which will establish a framework for deeper global cooperation on climate and nature issues in preparation for COP30 in Belem in 2025.”

Gareth Redmond-King, Head of International Programme, Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU):
“All COPs have ups and downs during the process, good and bad in the outcome. The job is to raise ambition, increase momentum, and keep 1.5° alive. But this is the first COP outcome to reflect the need to get off fossil fuels in its text.
“That’s not only important to the diplomacy, to what countries go home and do, and to what countries put into their new pledges in time for COP30 in Brazil. It’s also important for the signal it sends – that the era of fossil fuels is coming to an end. Markets and investors will hear that loud and clear.
The 100+ countries who pushed for strong language on fossil fuels will go back and put their policy and public finance where their ambition was. And COP28 will therefore build momentum towards the inevitable point where the petro-states and fossil fuel companies are stuck with the stranded assets that they came here to protect from action to keep 1.5° alive.”

Ignacio Galan, executive chair, Iberdrola:

“We have witnessed a “COP for action”, and the presidency should be congratulated for helping to broker a positive outcome. To agree to transition away from fossil fuels at the same time as agreeing to triple renewables by 2030 is a pivotal moment in the fight against the climate crisis. The important role of power networks was also widely highlighted. Targets can be achieved, but the hard work to deliver starts today. It means mobilizing huge investments in renewables, as well as grids and storage, the other two critical legs of a stable energy transition. Governments must also swiftly address the barriers that have been present in the past, such as permitting delays and ensuring stable, positive frameworks for investments. ”

David Whitehouse, chief executive, Offshore Energies UK:
“This is an important global agreement. While each country will reflect on its own journey, through the North Sea Transition deal agreed with the UK Government in 2021, the UK offshore energy sector is already committed to and delivering on detailed plans to reach net zero by 2050.
“We continue to show climate leadership, having cut our production emissions by 24% since 2018 while many of our members producing the oil and gas we need today are the same companies expanding homegrown production of wind, hydrogen and the development of carbon capture and storage. This work supports today’s commitment to treble global renewable capacity by 2030.”