Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault, praised the "huge" agreement reached yesterday at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, the "28th Conference of the Parties" (COP28), in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

This is the first time that the United Nations Climate Summit, which includes around 200 countries, has agreed to transition away from fossil fuels.

Some observers also welcomed the agreement considering it a historic turning point in global climate negotiations and stronger than the draft presented earlier in the week.

However, many warned of what they considered loopholes and distractions in the agreement that could undermine the necessary action to fulfill the global commitment to keep the temperature rise at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Minister Guilbeault said that Canada played a "leading role in cementing the agreement."

"The agreement sets the path for the next few years as we continue our efforts to address the climate crisis," Guilbeault wrote on the "X" platform (formerly "Twitter"), "This outcome is huge."

It is noted that within minutes of the start of today's session in Dubai, the conference president, Sultan Ahmad Al Jaber, announced the approval of the central document, which is an assessment of how far the world is off track regarding climate and how to get back on track, without giving critics a chance to comment.

Al Jaber praised the document, calling it a "historic package to accelerate climate action."

The agreement calls on the countries of the world to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, and to "accelerate action in this critical decade of time, to achieve net zero emissions by 2050."

The announced agreement on Wednesday went further than the draft that caused an uproar earlier in the week. The draft prepared by the conference presidency did not mention reducing fossil fuel use or phasing it out, instead calling on the world’s countries to reduce fossil fuel consumption and production "in a fair, organized, and equitable manner."

The Canadian government made several announcements during the two-week conference, revealing an emissions cap for the oil and gas industry in Canada and draft regulations to significantly reduce methane emissions in this sector.

Meanwhile, Liz MacDowell, a senior campaigns director at the environmental group Stand.earth headquartered in Vancouver, warned that the agreement is weakened by "serious distractions," most notably leaving the door open to so-called transitional fuels, such as natural gas, and failing to oblige wealthy countries to finance the energy transition.

MacDowell added in a statement that her organization is "determined to hold the Canadian government accountable for the commitments it made here in Dubai to transform our economy away from fossil fuels."