In a letter dated Dec, 6 to delegations of all 13 OPEC nations, and the 10 countries that have joined the OPEC+ agreement, OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais called on OPEC member states to reject any call for phasing out fossil fuels in the final document of the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28).
The COP28 meeting in Dubai, as of this weekend, is at the stage of final haggling over what language to include in its joint communiqué on fossil fuel use and phaseout.
The OPEC Secretary’s letter, obtained by TASS (as well as by Reuters and the New York Times earlier), states: “I take this opportunity to respectfully urge all respected OPEC+ and non-OPEC countries that have joined the Charter of Cooperation to proactively reject any text or formula that targets energy i.e. fossil fuels rather than emissions.” The alliance’s member states realize the importance of tackling the climate change, though “the undue and disproportionate pressure against fossil fuels may reach a tipping point with irreversible consequences,” Al Ghais wrote. “It would be unacceptable that politically motivated campaigns put our people’s prosperity and future at risk.”
