Dubai deal hailed as 'beginning of end' for fossil fuels

What you need to know:

  • Toughening language from an earlier draft that was roundly denounced by environmentalists, the agreement calls for transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner
  • It asks for greater action "in this critical decade" and recommits to no net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 in hopes of meeting the increasingly elusive goal of checking warming at 1.5 degrees (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels