The COP28 climate summit on Wednesday approved a deal that would, for the first time, push nations to "transition" from fossil fuels to avert the worst effects of climate change.

Nations adopted on Wednesday the first ever UN climate deal that calls for the world to transition away from fossil fuels.

"Together we have set the world in the right direction," COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber said at the UN climate summit in Dubai, prompting delegates to rise and applaud.

Al-Jaber hailed a deal approved by almost 200 countries as an "historic package" of measures which offered a "robust plan" to keep the target of 1.5C within reach.

"We have delivered a paradigm shift that has the potential to redefine our economies," he said during the closing session of the COP28 summit, shortly after the deal was approved.

He added a note of caution for nations: "An agreement is only as good as its implementation. We are what we do, not what we say."

UN climate Chief Simon Stiell urged countries to turn pledges into action after the agreement was passed.

"Now, all governments and businesses need to turn these pledges into real-economy outcomes without delay," Stiell told delegates in Dubai.

A draft agreement unveiled early Wednesday in talks in Dubai toughens language by calling for "transitioning away" from fossil fuels, although it does not use the term "phase out".

The text, released for consideration after another full night of haggling, would also call for "accelerating action" during "this critical decade" – providing more urgency than an earlier proposal widely dismissed by green-minded countries.

The previous draft also drew fire for offering a list of options that "could" be taken to combat the dangerous warming of the planet. The new draft explicitly "calls on" all nations to contribute through a series of actions.

The actions include "transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science", the new draft says.

It calls for phase-downs of "unabated coal power" – meaning that coal with carbon capture technology to reduce emissions, panned by many environmentalists as unrealistic, could continue. It also calls for "phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that do not address energy poverty or just transitions, as soon as possible".

But it does not call for a "phase out" of fossil fuels. Discussions during the 14 days of talks in Dubai, a metropolis built on oil wealth, had revolved around how far to go and whether to make a historic call to wind down oil, gas and coal, the main culprits in the planet's rapid warming.(AFP)