European Union countries intend to push for a global phasing out of fossil fuels among their climate diplomacy priorities this year, which the bloc hopes to approve this week after rewriting a contentious section on nuclear energy. The draft text aims to set out the EU’s diplomatic priorities ahead of this year’s U.N. climate summit, where nearly 200 countries will negotiate joint efforts to curb climate change. A draft seen by Reuters said the EU would back a global shift away from fossil fuels. “The shift towards a climate neutral economy will require the global phase-out of unabated fossil fuels,” the draft said. “The EU will systematically promote and call for a global move towards energy systems free of unabated fossil fuels well ahead of 2050.” (https://neuters.de/business/environment/eu-rewrites-climate-diplomacy-deal-resolve-nuclear-sticking-point-2023-03-06/) Some countries are hoping this year’s COP28 summit could clinch a deal on phasing out the use of CO2-emitting fossil fuels – not only coal, as agreed at previous U.N. climate talks, but also oil and gas. A proposal by India to do this gained some support at last year’s U.N. climate summit but was opposed by Saudi Arabia and other oil and gas-rich nations. Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands had pushed for the fossil fuel exit in the EU text, EU diplomats said. Diplomats from EU countries will attempt to finalise the text on March 8, which ministers must then approve formally.