Space Travel News
OIL AND GAS
Saudi Arabia says 'absolutely not' to oil phase down at COP28
Saudi Arabia says 'absolutely not' to oil phase down at COP28
By Talek HARRIS
Dubai (AFP) Dec 5, 2023

Saudi Arabia's energy minister has slammed the door shut to agreeing to phase down fossil fuels at the UN's COP28 climate talks, setting the stage for difficult negotiations in Dubai.

A tentative "phasedown/out" was included in a first draft of an agreement on climate action that delegates are haggling over during talks that are scheduled to finish on December 12.

But Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, a half-brother of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, told Bloomberg that Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, would not agree.

"Absolutely not," he said in an interview in Riyadh.

"And I assure you not a single person -- I'm talking about governments -- believes in that."

About 200 countries must come to a consensus decision at the meeting in Dubai, held at the end of the hottest year on record.

In an interview with AFP last week, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a total phaseout of fossil fuels, warning "complete disaster" awaits mankind on its current trajectory.

But Prince Abdulaziz said: "I would like to put that challenge for all of those who... comes out publicly saying we have to (phase down), I'll give you their name and number, call them and ask them how they are gonna do that.

"If they believe that this is the highest moral ground issue, fantastic. Let them do that themselves. And we will see how much they can deliver."

- 'Small change' -

Separately, the Saudi royal also derided Western donations to a new climate loss and damage fund as "small change" and trumpeted Riyadh's pledges to developing countries.

The fund for vulnerable nations -- a major win at the start of COP28 -- has attracted about $655 million so far from donors including the European Union and the United States, a sum criticised as insufficient by campaigners.

"Unlike the small change offered for loss and damage from our partners in developed countries, the Kingdom through its South-South cooperation announced in the Saudi Africa Summit in Riyadh last month the allocation of up to $50 billion," he said in a video message to Monday's Saudi Green Initiative forum, held on the sidelines of COP28.

"This will help build resilient infrastructure and strengthen climate resilience and adaptation in the African continent directly through Saudi stakeholders," added the prince, without giving further details.

Such private funds have been criticised by campaigners for lacking transparency and because the pledges are non-binding and include loans and investments.

Saudi Arabia has revamped its energy sources, invested in renewables and improved energy-efficiency as it tries to decarbonise its economy by 2030, Prince Abdulaziz added.

But that target does not include emissions from the 8.9 million barrels of oil a day exported by Saudi Arabia.

Africa and its energy mix is an area of focus for both Saudi and the UAE, which in September pledged $4.5 billion for clean-energy investments in the continent.

"You cannot go to undeveloped countries or developing countries and ask them to do the same measures of the transition," Yasir Al-Rumayyan, chairman of Saudi state oil giant Aramco, told the forum.

"Especially people who don't have access to the energy."

He said he heard an African minister say "in order for us to have growth, we have to carbonise first then to decarbonise."

th/yad

Saudi Aramco

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
OIL AND GAS
COP28's under-fire UAE chair says 'we respect' climate science
Dubai (AFP) Dec 4, 2023
The Emirati head of the UN climate conference insisted on Monday that he respects climate science after he came under fire over a leaked video in which he questioned the science on fossil fuels. Amid tough talks over the future of fossil fuels, Sultan Al Jaber, who is also head of UAE national oil company ADNOC, hit out at "repeated attempts to undermine" the work of the COP28 presidency in Dubai. "We're here because we very much believe and respect the science," Jaber told a press conference th ... read more

OIL AND GAS
OIL AND GAS
Farewell, Solar Conjunction 2023: Sols 4023-4024

Was There Life on Mars

NASA Orbiter snaps stunning views of Mars horizon

Perseverance's Parking Spot

OIL AND GAS
After 50 years, US to return to Moon on January 25

PRIME-1 Simulation

Hydrogen detected in lunar samples, points to resource availability for space exploration

Advanced Space's CAPSTONE operates one year at the Moon

OIL AND GAS
Unwrapping Uranus and its icy moon secrets

Juice burns hard towards first-ever Earth-Moon flyby

Fall into an ice giant's atmosphere

Juno finds Jupiter's winds penetrate in cylindrical layers

OIL AND GAS
Minimalist or maximalist? The life of a microbe a mile underground

First extragalactic exoplanet disc spotted outside of the Milky Way

Astronomers find 'tilted' planets even in pristine solar systems

Alien haze, cooked in a lab, clears view to distant water worlds

OIL AND GAS
NASA, small companies eye new cargo delivery, heat shield technologies

Firefly Aerospace completes first Miranda Engine hot fire test

First launch of Europe's Ariane 6 rocket planned for mid-2024

Boosting rocket reliability at the material level

OIL AND GAS
China's Lunar Samples on Display in Macao to Inspire Future Explorers

China Manned Space Agency Delegation Highlights SARs' Role in Space Program

Wenchang Set to Become China's Premier Commercial Space Launch Hub by Next Year

Shanghai Sets Sights on Expanding Space Industry with Ambitious 2025 Goals

OIL AND GAS
Evolving material, not rings, circling Centaur Chiron

Satellite discovered by NASA's Lucy mission gets name

Finnish team of researchers found out the composition of asteroid Phaethon

Hera asteroid mission hears the noise

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.