COP28: Germany canvasses for phase-out of fossil fuel globally

 

By Torsten Holtz, dpa I Wednesday, Dec. 06, 2023

 

DUBAI, UAE – Germany is pushing hard for the countries attending the COP28 climate summit in Dubai to agree on a global phase-out of coal, oil and gas, delegates said on Tuesday, despite facing opposition from several of the almost 200 governments present.

“Our goal is clear: renewables are the future; the end of the fossil fuel era must become tangible here at COP28,” said State Secretary Jennifer Morgan, Germany’s special envoy for international climate action.

State Secretary for Development Jochen Flasbarth said the climate goals clearly required an exit from fossil fuels “as quickly as possible.” Any other scenario would be hair-raising, he noted.

However, Flasbarth admitted there were “many people at COP28 who don’t really like this.” Heated debates were taking place, he said, in what he described as the last stand of the fossil-fuelled world.

Saudi Arabia is among those to have voiced public opposition, while more than 2,400 oil, coal and gas lobbyists are on site, according to surveys by activists.

Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman said he would “absolutely not” support a joint commitment to a phase-out of coal, oil and gas, in an interview with Bloomberg TV aired late on Monday. He accused countries pushing for such an end to fossil fuels of hypocrisy.

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter and third largest oil producer.

More than 120 states agreed to triple global renewable energy capacities and double energy efficiency by 2030, in a joint statement issued at the start of the climate talks. Delegations had now reached the core part of negotiations, Morgan said.

“Work is going on day and night. Sometimes it’s sluggish, but that’s normal at this stage,” the German state secretary noted. The two-week meeting with 97,000 participants is scheduled to end on December 12.

Morgan said important core principles had been included in the draft of the final document. Negotiators would now have to work intensively on the details at a technical level, she added, leaving outstanding issues to be decided at a political level in the second week.

 

From Friday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will take over at the helm of the country’s delegation in Dubai.