DUBAI, December 11. /TASS/. Saudi Arabia intends to block the final document of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) if it contains a provision on the gradual phasing out of fossil fuels, a source in the country’s delegation told TASS.
The talks between the parties to the convention, during which the delegations discuss the draft final document, are deadlocked, the source said, adding that most COP28 participants, including delegations of European Union member states, are insisting on the need to augment the text of the document by adding a provision on the gradual phase-out of fossil fuels. Some of these countries would consider the compromise option of calling for the gradual phase-out of "unabated" fossil fuel, although OPEC nations, including Saudi Arabia and Iraq, are adamantly opposed to any provisions that would concern the issue of production and use of hydrocarbons, the source noted.
"We are ready to block the document if it includes any wording on [a] fossil fuel phase-out. Such a decision would not only create a threat for countries whose economic development depends on export of hydrocarbons, but also cause negative implications for energy security of the whole world. <…> The countries that favor [a fossil fuel] phase-out do not understand how dangerous it is for them as well," the source stressed.
Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Simon Stiell said earlier on Monday that COP28 participants should "clear the unnecessary tactical blockades out of the way" to reach a deal able to ensure the achievement of the Paris Agreement goals. He also urged delegations to abandon incrementalism, a step-by-step strategy of negotiations that suggests reaching temporary or interim agreements in an attempt to postpone the solution of more complicated issues.
On Sunday, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, United Arab Emirates minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and COP28 president, urged the parties to the Convention to show flexibility and accept compromises to reach an agreement through developing a single position on the issue of a gradual fossil fuels phase-out.
A source told TASS that at the meeting the heads of the delegations of Saudi Arabi, Iraq and a number of other OPEC nations spoke against adding the provisions on a gradual fossil fuels phase-out to the final COP28 document. In particular, Saudi Arabia’s representative criticized opponents for attempts at "politically affecting energy." Despite Jaber’s efforts, after hours of talks the sides failed to come to a compromise. A source in the COP28 chief’s office told TASS that the conference may be extended for a few days if delegates fail to approve the text of the final document at the final stage of negotiations.
On December 8, the UNFCCC office released the draft of the COP28 final document. Its key clause suggests four statements on a gradual fossil fuel phase-out, a discussion of which has been the key focus of the sides in the past few days. COP28 participants that are involved in final talks on the parameters of the agreement are to reach a consensus by the end of the summit on December 12, either by approving one of the proposed statements or by excluding this provision from the final version of the text.