Arab OPEC ministers gathered in Doha as COP28 fossil fuel talks continued. Countries battled at the United Nations’ COP28 climate meeting over a possible deal to phase out fossil fuels. On Monday, the top Arab energy ministers gathered in Doha for the 12th Arab Energy Conference. This occurred at the same time that the summit was taking place.
In a letter dated December 6 and reviewed by Reuters, Saudi Arabia’s Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais encouraged members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to oppose any COP28 accord that targets fossil fuels rather than carbon.
Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, and Oman Ministers arrived for the energy discussion. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, who had been in Dubai for the United Nations climate summit, also attended the meeting.
The absence of Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, the Minister of Energy for the United Arab Emirates, was noted.
According to observers who are participating in the discussions, Saudi Arabia, which is the de facto leader of OPEC, and Russia, which is a significant ally, are among the nations that are urging that the COP28 meeting take place in Dubai and focus solely on lowering climate pollution rather than attacking the fossil fuels that are the source of this pollution.
But at least eighty countries, including the United States of America, the European Union, and many poor nations that are most susceptible to climate change, are asking that an agreement reached at COP28 explicitly call for an ultimate end to the use of fossil fuels.
Oil Minister Saad Al Barrak responded to reporters’ inquiries regarding Kuwait’s stance on the climate negotiations by stating that the country’s position had not yet been set.
Approximately 200 participating countries must vote to approve any agreements made at United Nations climate conferences. The summits are intended to reach a consensus on the following actions that the world should take to combat climate change; however, it is up to individual nations to guarantee that this consensus is reached via the policies and investments they implement at the national level.
There would be political readiness from other nations to reduce their use of fossil fuels if oil-rich countries reached an agreement to stop using fossil fuels, even if there was no set timetable for the termination of the agreement.
Both COP28 and the 12th Arab Energy Conference, which will last two days, will conclude on December 12.
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