"COP29 Clash Brews as Saudis Resist Restating Fossil Fuel Pledge"

" COP29 Clash Brews as Saudis Resist Restating Fossil Fuel Pledge \r\n \u00a0A fight is building at the United Nations climate talks over whether countries should recommit to last year\u2019s historic pledge to transition away from fossil fuels. \r\n 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\u2019t public. \r\n 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 \u201ctransition away\u201d from fossil fuels in Dubai. A failure to double down on the language agreed in last year\u2019s deal is seen by developed and climate-vulnerable countries as a climbdown. \r\n A representative for Saudi Arabia declined to immediately comment. \r\n A tussle over the agenda at the beginning of this year\u2019s COP stemmed from disagreements over whether \u2014 and in what forum \u2014 the commitments to slash emissions made last year should be discussed. \r\n The main goal of this year\u2019s 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. \r\n 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. \r\n Saudi Arabia has described last year\u2019s agreement to transition away from fossil fuels \u2014 the first reference to the main cause of climate change in three decades of UN talks \u2014 as simply one option in tackling rising greenhouse gas emissions. The kingdom is the world\u2019s biggest crude oil exporter, and is also building green projects while pursuing a multitrillion-dollar plan to reduce the economy\u2019s dependence on oil. \r\n Including the fossil fuel language in a COP deal took 28 years and \u201cwe must ensure this commitment is not lost in translation and is reinforced in all future decisions,\u201d Fiji\u2019s Deputy Prime Minister Biman Prasad said. \r\n COP29 talks are about to enter their second week, a period where climate ministers provide the political impetus to settle the main issues that cannot be solved at a more technical level. Pages of negotiating text need to be reduced, brackets need to be replaced and trade-offs will be bartered in closed-door meetings. \r\n COP29\u2019s Azerbaijan presidency will have to act as a neutral broker despite fossil fuels making up 90% of the country\u2019s exports and its leader Ilham Aliyev calling them a \u201cgift of God.\u201d \r\n Donald Trump\u2019s return as US president and his commitment to boost the country\u2019s energy production also hangs over any fresh commitments to move away from oil, gas and coal. "

"COP29 Clash Brews as Saudis Resist Restating Fossil Fuel Pledge"

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