Al Ghais declined to comment on the letter but said Opec wanted to keep the focus of the talks on reducing emissions, as opposed to picking energy sources.
Cop28: how to fight climate change when we don’t even have a commander?
Cop28: how to fight climate change when we don’t even have a commander?
“The world requires major investments in all energies, including hydrocarbons,” he said. “Energy transitions must be just, fair and inclusive.”
French Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said on Saturday she was “stunned” after Opec urged its members to thwart any deal targeting fossil fuels at the Cop28 conference.
“I am stunned by these statements from Opec. And I am angry,” she said, adding that “Opec’s position endangers the most vulnerable countries and the poorest populations who are the first victims of this situation”.
Spanish ecology transition minister Teresa Ribera, whose country holds the rotating European Union presidency, told reporters: “I think that it is quite, quite a disgusting thing that Opec countries are pushing against getting the bar where it has to be.”
Can Cop28’s plan to triple renewable energy finally edge out fossil fuels?
Can Cop28’s plan to triple renewable energy finally edge out fossil fuels?
But they face a struggle to persuade countries that rely on oil and gas for revenue, many of which are instead promoting technologies like carbon capture, which is expensive and has yet to be proven at scale.
Tina Stege, climate envoy of the Republic of the Marshall Islands – one of the places worst affected by climate change, said any resistance to including a phase-out of fossil fuels risked the world’s prosperity.
“Nothing puts the prosperity and future of all people on earth, including all of the citizens of Opec countries, at greater risk than fossil fuels,” said Stege, whose country chairs the High Ambition Coalition, a group of nations pushing for more ambitious emissions targets and policies.
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Cop28 prepares temperature check on climate at Dubai meeting
Cop28 prepares temperature check on climate at Dubai meeting
“This is why the High Ambition Coalition is pushing for a phase out of fossil fuels, which are at the root of this crisis. 1.5 is not negotiable, and that means an end to fossil fuels,” she said in a statement.
After a week of technical talks, the negotiations now have ministerial input before the scheduled end of the summit on Tuesday – the last phase when countries wrestle to find consensus over the wording regarding fossil fuels.
The latest version of the negotiating text includes a range of options – from agreeing to a “phase out of fossil fuels in line with best available science”, to phasing out “unabated fossil fuels”, to including no language on them at all.
Germany’s state secretary and special envoy for climate action, Jennifer Morgan, said countries were now “moving into the critical stage of negotiations”.
“It is time for all countries to remember what is at stake and to be ready to send the signal the world needs at this critical moment of the global climate crisis. I am concerned that not all are constructively engaging.”
Thousands of hospitals at high risk of shutdown from climate change, warns report
Thousands of hospitals at high risk of shutdown from climate change, warns report
Asked about the Opec letter, Cop28 Director General Majid Al Suwaidi avoided the term “fossil fuels” but said the United Arab Emirates, as president of the summit, wanted a deal to get the world on track for 1.5 degrees.
“Our Cop president has been very clear from day one that he wants to achieve an outcome that puts us clearly on track for 1.5 degrees,” he told a news conference. “He clearly wants to see an outcome that is as ambitious as possible and we believe we are going to deliver it.”
Negotiators have a tough job ahead.
Wael Aboulmagd, special representative to the Cop27 Egyptian presidency, said there were too many options in the text on fossil fuels, adding there was also deadlock in talks on measures to help nations adapt to extreme weather and other climate change impacts.
“We still have some serious issues with adaptation. We are still way behind on that.”
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse