The tensions created by Saudi Arabia and other petrostates, contrary to any reference to the “elimination” of fossil fuels, marked the final stretch of COP28 on Tuesday. The Dubai summit was marked by total uncertainty in the “time of injury”, increased by the information vacuum of the presidency for more than 24 hours, while the latest draft was being finalized.
The possibility of a failed summit, like Copenhagen in 2009 or The Hague in 2000, even influenced the conclave. which brought together more than 80,000 delegates from 198 countries plus the EU, also marked by the record of up to 2,456 oil industry lobbyists.
The president of COP28, the sultan Ahmed Al Yaber, played hide and seek with the media after the barrage of criticism for the draft presented on Mondays, which proposed “reducing the production and consumption” of fossil fuels “in a fair, orderly and equitable manner.” The text avoided at all costs using the word “elimination” (phase outin English), the workhorse of the European Union and at least 130 countries.
Frontal opposition from Saudi Arabia stopped any possible advance in the hour H. Several countries in the Organization of Petroleum Producers and Exporters (OPEC), which had urged its members to reject any mention of the end of fossil fuels, made common cause with the country considered the usual suspect at climate summits .
Saudi Arabia’s position in fact caused a division between the petrostates, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) trying to find a conciliatory formula to save its reputation as a host country. The dual role of Sultan Al Yaber, as executive director of the state oil company Adnoc, ended up taking its toll on him at the moment of truth, despite his insistence on the importance of bringing large producers to the negotiating table.