History was made on Wednesday when COP President Sultan al-Jaber banged the gavel in Dubai shortly after 11 am local time.

The first COP agreement was adopted that mentions fossil fuels, which Denmark, the EU and small island states have fought hard to include.

However, it was not a phase-out, which has otherwise been their goal, that ended up in the agreement.

Instead, the words are a ”transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems” to ensure net-zero emissions by 2050.

However, this is not something that countries are committed to.

The sentence is preceded by a call for countries to contribute to the climate policy actions mentioned in the agreement.

These include tripling renewable energy and doubling energy efficiency by 2030, which have been among the Danish key priorities.

”From the bottom of my heart: thank you,” said COP President Sultan al-Jaber.

”We have traveled a long way together in a short time. Over the past two weeks, we have worked very hard to secure a better future for our people and our planet.”

”We should be proud of our historic achievements,” he said from the stage.

Climate action must take into account the different circumstances and approaches that exist and are used in countries.

There has been great disagreement among the almost 200 countries as to whether the future of fossil fuels should be addressed in the agreement.

Denmark, the EU, the US and small island states have believed that it should, but countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have opposed it.

But after lengthy negotiations, a compromise was reached.

The agreement will form the basis for the countries of the world to update their national climate plans - known as NDCs. This will happen over the coming years.