Countries at the COP28 climate conference are considering calling for a formal phase-out of fossil fuels as part of the UN summit's final agreement to tackle global warming, a draft negotiating text seen on Tuesday showed.
The proposal is sure to spark heated debate among the nearly 200 countries attending the two-week conference in Dubai, with Western governments pushing for the language to be included while oil and gas producers are keen to leave it out.
Research published Tuesday shows that global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels will reach a record high this year, fueling concerns among scientists that efforts to combat climate change will not be enough to stave off its worst effects turn.
The draft of what could be COP28's final agreement, released on Tuesday by the UN climate agency, proposed “an orderly and just phase-out of fossil fuels” which, if adopted, would mark the first global agreement to achieve a to end the oil era.
On the main stage at COP28, the CEOs of several major energy companies made the case for oil and gas, highlighting their progress in areas such as reducing the greenhouse gas methane.
“We are big boys and we can do big things. We can get results and we will have to report them very soon,” said Jean Paul Prates, CEO of Brazilian state oil company Petrobras.
“The energy transition will only be valid if it is a fair transition,” he added.
Patrick Pouyanne, CEO of TotalEnergies, said a transition from oil and gas would take a long time “so we absolutely need to produce oil and gas in a different way by reducing emissions. And we can do that, we have the technology”.
“Of course it comes at a price,” he said, “but it's part of our license to operate, I would say, for the future.” At least 2,400 fossil fuel lobbyists have signed up for this year's summit, according to an analysis of UN registration data published by Kick Big Polluters
It turned out.
The number of lobbyists was greater than the 1,609 delegates from the ten most climate-sensitive countries combined, according to the international coalition of climate activists.
Climate activists organized several small protests at the vast conference site against the presence of the fossil fuel industry. The Marshall Islands, meanwhile, have unveiled a national plan to adapt to rising sea levels, an acknowledgment that the effects of warming are already hitting their coasts.
“While we hope for a world where the world delivers on the Paris Agreement's promise to stem climate change, as an extremely climate-vulnerable country we must be realistic and honest about the difficult road ahead,” said Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner , president of the country. climate envoy.
Saudi Energy Minister will not agree to phase-out Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud says the kingdom will not agree to a text calling for the phase-out of fossil fuels at the COP28 summit in Dubai.
“Absolutely not,” he said when asked in a TV interview in Riyadh whether his country, the world's largest oil exporter, would be happy if the language was added.
An agreement to call for a phase-out or phase-out of fossil fuels is a key demand of many countries at COP28, including the US and EU. The text must be unanimously agreed upon. Negotiators have looked at other formulations – such as limiting the shift to “unabated” fossil fuels or linking it to a just transition. Abdulaziz, the half-brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, did not say whether such nonsense would be acceptable to Saudi Arabia.
He called out countries pushing for a phase-out of fossil fuels for hypocrisy, saying if they believed in it, they should just get on with it.
“I'm not naming names,” he said. “But those countries that really believe in phasing out and phasing out hydrocarbons must come out from January 1, 2024 and draw up a plan on how.”
The issue gained further weight yesterday when a video call was released in which COP28 President Sultan Al-Jaber said there was no scientific basis for saying a phase-out is necessary to achieve climate goals. Although he argued that there were other routes to reducing emissions, his words were condemned by many climate activists.