(Bloomberg) — A fight is building at the United Nations climate talks over whether countries should recommit to last year’s historic pledge to transition away from fossil fuels.
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European and US negotiators see restating commitments agreed last year, including a boost in efficiency and renewable energy deployment, as essential to prevent backtracking on the global climate fight, people familiar with the matter said. Saudi Arabia is leading a push back with a mix of delaying tactics and outright blocking maneuvers, they said, asking not to be named because the negotiations aren’t public.
The disagreement comes at a delicate juncture at COP29 in Azerbaijan. A deal on fossil fuels made it to a final COP agreement for the first time ever last year, with COP28 host United Arab Emirates successfully getting Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing nations on board with a message to “transition away” from fossil fuels in Dubai. A failure to double down on the language agreed in last year’s deal is seen by developed and climate-vulnerable countries as a climbdown.
A representative for Saudi Arabia declined to immediately comment.
A tussle over the agenda at the beginning of this year’s COP stemmed from disagreements over whether — and in what forum — the commitments to slash emissions made last year should be discussed. Last year, the Saudis initially pushed back on any language on fossil fuels before the UAE was able to get a deal over the line with their tacit backing.
The main goal of this year’s negotiations is to replace an existing annual $100 billion climate finance pledge with one delivering far more to help poorer nations build green economies and resilience to global warming. The required amount has been estimated to be more than $1 trillion a year. The US and Europe want more countries to contribute funding, putting pressure on Saudi Arabia and other rich Gulf petrostates that are responsible for a large proportion of emissions.
Separately, countries are on the hook to submit new ambitious national climate strategies by next February to ensure they are on a path set out by the Paris Agreement. The landmark deal in 2015 states that countries will aim to keep global warming to 2C, and ideally 1.5C, before the end of the century.