At the UN’s global climate meeting in the United Arab Emirates, the negotiations are at a sensitive stage, the most difficult being the issue of phasing out fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and gas.
Therefore, a letter from Opec, which several media have taken part in, has stirred up emotions. The head of the oil cartel calls on his members to block any agreement that would mean a phase-out of fossil fuels.
The climate minister is upset about how the oil cartel is acting.
– To enter into negotiations in this way and to come up with unreasonable demands, which go completely against the ambitions and purpose of meeting here, says Pourmokhtari (L).
– I think that the oil industry is rightly quite desperate right now. They are a dying industry.
Big issue
The phasing out of fossil fuels is the major contentious issue with four days left of the climate negotiations – with strong interests resisting progress on the issue.
Romina Pourmokhtari believes that the Opec countries may be surprised that the issue is still on the table. But the leaked letter could have the opposite effect to what the cartel wants.
– Now the flame is burning to argue even more about this issue, says Pourmokhtari.
– We are quite tired of continuing to nag about this from Europe’s side. We will now be tougher and clearer than ever that unless we start talking about phasing out and decide to phase out, then we will not have the capital for investments in renewables, she says.
The countries of the world have never managed to agree on phasing out the use of all fossil fuels, despite the fact that it is the main culprit behind the dangerous global warming plaguing the planet.
The pressure increases
In the latest draft climate agreement, there are five options for the negotiators to choose from regarding the future of fossil fuels. Four out of five require some sort of rapid phase-out – while the fifth option is to not mention the elephant in the room at all.
– It may be that precisely because we are in a country like the United Arab Emirates, there will be extra high pressure on this issue, says Pourmokhtari.
– And now there will be even higher pressure, but we’ll see what that results in.
There are many ministers and organizations on site in Dubai who are responding to OPEC’s call. Mohamed Adow, head of the Power Shift Africa think tank, calls it shameful.
“If the world is to be able to save itself, it cannot be held back by a small group of countries that control the world’s oil supply,” he writes in a statement.
The UN climate summits, COP, are held in different locations each year. COP stands for “Conference of the Parties” and refers to the parties to the UN Climate Convention.
COP28 will be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from November 30 to December 12.
In the Paris Agreement of 2015, most of the world’s countries agreed to keep the increase in the global average temperature well below 2 degrees, and most preferably below 1.5 degrees, compared to pre-industrial times. This must primarily be done through reduced emissions of greenhouse gases.
In connection with COP28, the first global review (“global stocktake”) of how the countries’ efforts and commitments are in relation to the goals of the Paris Agreement is being completed. It is a reconciliation of how things are going in the fight against climate change and shows that global emissions are not in line with what is required to live up to the Paris Agreement. On the contrary, emissions continue to increase and the window to succeed in limiting warming to 1.5 degrees is closing rapidly.
(TT)