DUBAI (Reuters) – OPEC Secretary General Haitham al-Ghais has urged OPEC members to reject any deal emerging from the COP28 climate summit which targeted fossil fuels rather than emissions, a letter dated Dec. 6 and seen by Reuters on Friday showed.
Three sources confirmed the letter’s authenticity to Reuters. OPEC did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The letter referred to a draft of the COP28 text under negotiation that was published by the U.N. climate body on Dec. 5. A different draft was published on Friday.
“It seems that the undue and disproportionate pressure against fossil fuels may reach a tipping point with irreversible consequences, as the draft decision still contains options on fossil fuels phase out,” the letter said.
“I avail of this opportunity to respectfully urge all esteemed OPEC Member Countries and Non-OPEC Countries participating in the CoC and their distinguished delegations in the COP 28 negotiations to proactively reject any text or formula that targets energy i.e. fossil fuels rather than emissions.”
“While OPEC Member Countries and Non-OPEC Countries participating in the Charter of Cooperation (CoC) are taking climate change seriously and have a proven record on climate actions, it would be unacceptable that politically motivated campaigns put our people’s prosperity and future at risk.”
(Reporting by Youssef Saba and Maha El Dahan, Editing by Louise Heavens)
