Wind turbine and power station. Photo: Getty/pidjoe

A draft of a pact, set to be issued by world leaders at a UN summit next month, has been revised to include reference to ‘fossil fuels’ following criticism that the term had been removed in an earlier revision.

The first draft of the statement, due to be released at the Summit of the Future, had mentioned the fuels twice, urging a just transition away from them and the setting of a deadline for eliminating fossil fuel subsidies.

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But a second draft of the Pact for the Future surprised many by having taken out the term, despite a statement from nearly 200 countries at the end of the COP28 climate gathering last year making specific reference to the fuels for the first time.

In response, former government leaders and Nobel laureates from around the world wrote an open letter earlier this month to world leaders urging them to commit at the summit to a “fast and fair” transition away from the polluting fuels.

One of the signatories, former prime minister of Sweden Stefan Löfven, said the omission of specific reference to fossil fuels from the draft was “a stark failure.”

This week, a third draft has been released, which includes a commitment to “transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly and equitable manner, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science.”

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There is no reference to subsidies, however.

During the process of putting the drafts together, feedback has been submitted from UN member states, as well as civil society organisations, academia and the private sector.

The UN says the pact will “reaffirm existing commitments,” including the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by member states in 2015 and the UN Charter signed in 1945, and move towards a “reinvigorated multilateral system better positioned to impact people’s lives positively.”

The summit will be held in New York on 22 and 23 September.