Absolutely will not agree
Saudi Arabia is opposed to phasing out fossil fuels
December 5th, 2023, 11:40 a.m
More than 100 countries want to agree on a global exit from coal, oil and gas. The Saudi energy minister now says what he thinks of the project: nothing. He also doesn’t hold back with criticism.
Saudi Arabia is openly opposing the demand of more than 100 countries to agree on a global exit from coal, oil and gas at the world climate conference in Dubai. Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman told Bloomberg that the kingdom would not agree to such a resolution. “Absolutely not,” he said on Monday evening in Riyadh when asked whether his country would welcome this. Salman called states pushing to phase out fossil fuels “hypocritical.” Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter and the third largest oil producer.
The exit from all fossil energies, the burning of which releases climate-damaging greenhouse gases, is the central point of contention at the meeting of almost 200 countries. This option is included in a new draft of the final document, which was published on Tuesday night, but marked as controversial. The text must be adopted unanimously. The planned end of the negotiations is December 12th.
“The science is clear”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized at the beginning of the COP28 climate conference: “The science is clear. The 1.5 degree target is only possible if we finally stop burning fossil fuels.” This refers to the goal agreed in Paris in 2015 to limit global warming to, if possible, 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial times.
In the warmest decade in recorded history from 2011 to 2020, climate change accelerated rapidly, according to a UN report published on Tuesday. More and more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are causing “a turbo-driven, dramatic acceleration of ice melting and sea level rise,” as the World Weather Organization announced in Dubai.