World Climate Conference COP28
“Disgusting” OPEC letter against turning away from fossil fuels is causing a stir – Baerbock comments
COP28, Dubai: The main topics at the UN climate conference this year include financing for the damage caused by climate change
© Hannes P. Albert / DPA
At COP28 in Dubai, a call from the… organization Petroleum exporting countries (OPEC) for eddies. Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock reacts on the sidelines of the World Climate Conference.
At the World Climate Conference in Dubai (COP28), the call from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to block any decisions against fossil fuels is causing a stir. It is “disgusting” that the OPEC countries are opposing ambitious decisions in the climate negotiations, said the Environment Minister of the current EU Council Presidency country Spain, Teresa Ribera, on Saturday in Dubai.
The EU, with a “vast majority” of the almost 200 countries represented in Dubai, is committed to achieving “a significant and productive result” with regard to a move away from climate-damaging fossil fuels, emphasized Ribera. Environmental organizations also expressed outrage at OPEC’s intervention. In a letter obtained by the AFP news agency, OPEC Secretary General Haitham al Ghais wrote to the member states of his organization that there was “extreme urgency” to oppose decisions in Dubai to move away from fossil fuels.
OPEC letter causes a stir
“It appears that the unjustified and disproportionate pressure against fossil fuels may be reaching a tipping point with irreversible consequences,” al-Ghais warned OPEC countries in his letter sent last Wednesday. They should therefore “proactively reject any text or formulation” that is fundamentally directed against fossil fuels. The 28th UN Climate Change Conference is officially scheduled to end on Tuesday. The second week of negotiations began on Friday, with numerous ministers such as Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) getting involved personally.
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Baerbock still sees a lot of resistance in efforts to increase climate protection from countries that rely on fuels such as oil and gas. It’s about describing “the way out of the fossil world,” said the Green politician on Saturday at the World Climate Conference in Dubai. “It’s anything but easy. It’s still a tough sell because there are still those who want to carry their power politics from the past into the future, even with fossil power politics instruments.”
Baerbock statement from Dubai
Baerbock announced that the focus of her work will therefore be to promote more climate protection among countries whose wealth is based on fossil fuels. In Dubai there is an “alliance of doing” across regions and continents. Industrialized countries like Germany have shown that climate protection “can also contribute to maintaining and strengthening the industrial location”. The fund to compensate for climate damage in poor countries has created a “foundation of trust,” said Baerbock. Germany and the United Arab Emirates pledged $200 million at the start of the conference.
Watch the video: 28th UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai – how is oil production going in the climate crisis?
By the beginning of the week, an expert blog from the environmental organization NRDC had raised a total of $656 million. The damage currently caused by climate-related extreme weather events is estimated to be many times higher. Climate State Secretary Jennifer Morgan said: “We are now entering the critical phase of the negotiations.” She admitted: “I’m worried that not everyone is contributing constructively.”