Several major oil-producing countries, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, are pushing back against talks on an agreement at the upcoming COP29 climate summit to mitigate the use of fossil fuels, negotiators from Western countries told the Financial Times.
The group of oil-rich nations, which include Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Bolivia, are hindering efforts for talks on the phase down of fossil fuels. COP29 will be held in November in Azerbaijan, which is highly dependent on oil and gas sales for its economic growth.
The previous climate summit, COP28, which ran one day into extra time amid heated debates on the future of fossil fuel use and production, ended with a compromise text referencing for the first time a call to all parties to transition away from fossil fuels.
The summit host, the United Arab Emirates, which is also one of OPEC's top producers and exporters, hailed "the UAE consensus" as a historic deal to reduce emissions.
The final text adopted by the countries references for the first time in such summit declarations an explicit call for transitioning away from fossil fuels.
But the final agreement was watered down compared to any references to phasing out or phasing down of fossil fuels, as objections from many oil exporting countries - led by Saudi Arabia - held back talks in the final days and sent the conference into overtime.
The Conference of the Parties "Further recognizes the need for deep, rapid and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in line with 1.5 °C pathways and calls on Parties to contribute to the following global efforts, in a nationally determined manner, taking into account the Paris Agreement and their different national circumstances, pathways and approaches," reads the text adopted last year.
Saudi Arabia and its state oil giant Aramco have repeatedly said that the focus of the energy sector and the debates should be on how to cut emissions, not on reducing oil and gas production.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. More
Comments
Whether they like it or not, fossil fuels are here to stay. They will continue to drive the global economy well into the future throughout the 21st century and probably far beyond.
Therefore, it is not only inevitable but also logical that oil producers are pushing back against talks on an agreement at the upcoming COP29 climate summit in November in Azerbaijan.to mitigate the use of fossil fuels.
Still the COP29 and the ones that may follow should be on how to cut emissions, not on reducing oil and gas production. The COP29 should approve a rational, pragmatic and productive global energy strategy which brings together renewables, fossil ,nuclear energy and every energy source to work diligently together to satisfy global electricity demand. The higher the share of renewables the less natural gas, coal and nuclear energy needed.
Dr Mamdouh G Salameh
International Oil Economist
Global Energy Expert