In conjunction with COP28, Arab OPEC ministers meet in Doha

ronscarpa · December 12, 2023

2023-12-11 // 06:08

Shafaq News / The Arab energy ministers of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) arrived in the Qatari capital, Doha, on Monday, to participate in the twelfth Arab energy conference at a time when disagreements are raging among the countries participating in the United Nations climate conference “COP28” over a possible agreement to eliminate... Graduation from fossil fuels.

In a letter dated December 6, the Kuwaiti Secretary-General of OPEC, Haitham Al-Ghais, called on the organization’s members to reject any agreement that targets fossil fuels and not emissions, saying, “It appears that the unjustified and disproportionate pressure against fossil fuels may reach a point with consequences.” "Irreversible."

Al-Ghais declined to comment on the letter, but stressed that OPEC wants the talks to remain focused on reducing emissions and not choosing energy sources.

He said, "The world needs major investments in all energy sources, including hydrocarbons... Energy transitions must be fair, just and comprehensive."

Ministers from Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria and Oman arrived to attend the energy meeting, in addition to the Saudi Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, who was in Dubai to attend the United Nations climate summit, according to what Reuters reported, while the UAE Energy Minister, Suhail Mohammed Al Mazrouei, was absent from the event. Participation in the conference.

Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of OPEC, and its biggest ally Russia are among many countries that insist that the COP28 conference in Dubai focus only on reducing climate pollution and not on targeting the fossil fuels that cause it, according to observers of the negotiations.

However, at least 80 countries, including the United States, the European Union and many poorer countries threatened by climate change, are demanding that the COP28 agreement clearly call for a definitive end to the use of fossil fuels.

But they are making strenuous efforts to convince countries that depend on oil and gas revenues, and many are instead promoting technologies such as carbon capture, which is expensive and whose efficiency has not yet been widely proven.