US, EU push for fuel, emission pledges at COP28 in Dubai

Subscribe Search Search Sort by Relevance Title Date Subscribe Saudi Arabia pushes back on fossil fuel pledge at COP28 in Dubai as US, EU push for phase out Also Read Oil prices, US dollar steady ahead of OPEC+ cuts ALBAWABA – The United States (US) and European Union (EU) have joined forces with other participants at the climate conference, COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), pushing for pledges to phase out fossil fuels and slash cooling emissions. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia explicitly stated it will not accept the introduction of any such pledges as to phasing out or phasing down fossil fuels at the COP28 in Dubai. “Absolutely not,” said Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman in a TV interview in Riyadh, as to whether his country, the world’s top oil exporter, would accept such a clause.

An agreement to call for a fossil fuel phase out or phase down is a key demand of many countries at COP28 in Dubai, including the US and EU, Bloomberg reported. Saudi Arabia is the world’s top oil exporter and will not accept fossil fuel phase out or phase down pledges at COP28 in Dubai – Shutterstock However, any such pledges or clauses must be agreed unanimously. Talks are due to run until December 12, and negotiators have been looking at other formulations — such as limiting the shift to “unabated” fossil fuels or tying it to a just transition.

Abdulaziz, who’s the half brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, didn’t say whether such a concession would be acceptable to Saudi Arabia. On the cooling emissions front, the US and EU also joined forces with more than 60 other participant states at COP28 in Dubai, calling to cut cooling-related emissions by 2050. US joins dozens of participants at COP28 in Dubai pushing for Global Cooling Pledge The Global Cooling Pledge would mark the world’s first collective focus on energy emissions from the cooling sector, according to Reuters.

It calls for countries to reduce their cooling-related emissions by at least 68 percent, by 2050, compared to 2022 levels. Installed cooling capacity set to triple by 2050, according to a report published on Tuesday by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Accordingly, cooling emissions are expected to surge to between 4.

4 billion and 6. 1 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2050, as reported by Reuters. The US and EU are pushing for pledges to slash carbon dioxide equivalent emissions globally at COP28 in Dubai – Shutterstock Reuters was the first to report the US support for there being a process to construct more regulations or incentives for the industry in the US, and ramp up pressure on other countries to join.

Kenya was the first to sign on to the Global Cooling Pledge, with at least 59 more countries joining as of Monday afternoon, said Brian Dean of Sustainable Energy for All, a nonprofit agency that is part of a UNEP coalition that developed the pledge. US, EU and UAE pledges face push back from Saudi Arabia, India Organizers hope to see at least 80 countries supporting the cooling pledge, given the urgent need to slash climate-warming emissions and keep people safe from dangerous heatwaves. Meanwhile, at least 118 countries supported another pledge tabled by the UAE at COP28 in Dubai to triple renewable energy and double energy efficiency rates by 2030.

India voiced concerns about the pledge to organizers, and if not resolved, it would not join, a government official said Monday, without giving any details, according to Reuters. Also Read Bitcoin holds near $42k as stocks worldwide retreat A report from the Lancet medical journal last month estimated that heat stress deaths could quadruple by mid-century. UNEP estimates that global efforts to tackle cooling emissions could avoid the release of up to 78 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

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