SAUDI ARABIA FIRMLY REJECTS THE IDEA OF REDUCING OIL PRODUCTION AT COP28, STATING 'ABSOLUTELY NOT.'
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| www.rigzone.com |
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."
Two weeks ago, during an interview with AFP, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged for a complete elimination of fossil fuels, cautioning that humanity faces a "complete disaster" if the current trajectory persists.
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."
The Saudi royal criticized Western contributions to a newly established climate loss and damage fund as insignificant, while highlighting Riyadh's commitments to developing nations. Despite attracting around $655 million, including donations from the European Union and the United States, the fund for vulnerable nations, considered a significant achievement at the beginning of COP28, faced criticism for being deemed insufficient by activists.
"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.
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| source: www.google.com |
"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.
Excluded from the target are the emissions stemming from Saudi Arabia's daily export of 8.9 million barrels of oil. Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE prioritize Africa and its energy composition, with a commitment of $4.5 billion for clean-energy investments in the continent made by the UAE in September.
"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."
source: www.rigzone.com
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