Oil-rich nations launch ‘pushback’ in opposition to fossil gas phaseout

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Oil-rich nations are making a concerted effort to sluggish progress on a landmark UN local weather settlement to finish using fossil fuels, in line with western nations collaborating in international local weather change talks. 

Negotiators from 5 western international locations advised the Monetary Occasions that they have been making use of strain to Azerbaijan because the host nation for the upcoming UN COP29 summit to prioritise fossil gas phaseout discussions, in an try and counter a “pushback” from the petrostates and their allies.

At COP28 in Dubai final December, nearly 200 international locations agreed to transition away from fossil fuels in vitality programs by 2050 and to triple renewable vitality capability and double vitality effectivity by 2030.

However the negotiators stated {that a} group of nations together with Saudi Arabia, Russia and Bolivia — which have traditionally proved a block to any international settlement to section out using fossil fuels — have been but once more irritating progress.

Azerbaijan, which is closely reliant on oil and gasoline exports economically, is seen as reluctant to champion an extra shift away from oil and gasoline.

One negotiator from a serious western nation stated that “there’s clearly pushback by some countries” in discussions concerning the fossil fuels settlement.

“We’re having to be very clear with Azerbaijan that this COP won’t be a success if we don’t also talk about the process of implementing mitigation, including the COP28 decision,” they stated.

An EU official stated the bloc had additionally made its issues identified to Baku concerning the lack of progress on the COP28 settlement. “We confirmed [with Azerbaijan that] it’s very important we are able to pursue work on the Dubai consensus and we will ensure that this is part of the conversation.”

A negotiator from one other western nation added: “At this stage, it looks extremely bleak and there’s a real risk that large emitters within the G77 [group of developing nations] will use the difficult finance negotiations to block any meaningful progress on mitigation.”

At this yr’s COP29, to be held in November, international locations are because of agree on a brand new international aim for local weather finance, with nations clashing about how a lot this ought to be, who pays and its construction. On the weekend, African governments referred to as for greater than £1tn a yr in local weather finance. 

Oil and pure gasoline brings in about 90 per cent of Azerbaijan’s export revenues, and funds about 60 per cent of its price range, in line with Worldwide Power Company figures.

Earlier this month, Baku’s lead local weather negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev gave a seven-page speech about current talks between international locations at a retreat in Azerbaijan however didn’t explicitly point out fossil fuels or renewable vitality.

Rafiyev stated it was “crucial to emphasise the importance of mitigation”, the method of lowering or stopping the discharge of greenhouse gases into the environment versus lowering the burning of fossil fuels.

The absence of any particular point out of fossil fuels or renewable vitality within the speech “reveals a startling ignorance and an inexcusable failure of leadership from Azerbaijan”, stated Andreas Sieber, affiliate director of coverage and campaigns at 350.org, which is an observer group at COP.

The UAE COP28 presidency stated it “maintains a relentless focus on implementing” the Dubai settlement, formally referred to as the UAE Consensus, together with holding discussions on the vitality transition in Berlin earlier this yr. It stated it was “also working tirelessly with the G7 and G20”.

The Azeri COP29 presidency stated its management “has repeatedly stressed the importance of making progress on mitigation, which includes, among other things, the transition away from fossil fuels”.

It stated it was making “every effort to drive the parties towards common ground and inclusive outcomes”.

Earlier this yr, Saudi Arabia’s vitality minister Abdulaziz bin Salman described the COP29 settlement as an “à la carte menu” of choices relatively than being prescriptive.