World not ready to ‘shut off’ fossil fuels, says COP28 host UAE

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday that countries should agree to phase out emissions from fuels other than oil, gas and coal production in upcoming United Nations climate change talks this December.

The comments reflect deep divisions over how countries should tackle global warming ahead of the COP28 talks. Some wealthy Western governments and climate-stricken island nations have been pushing to phase out fossil fuels, while resource-rich nations have struggled to keep drilling.

Mariam Almheiri, the UAE’s climate change and environment minister, told Reuters in an interview that phasing out fossil fuels would hurt countries that rely on fossil fuels for income or cannot easily replace them with renewable energy.

She favored the use of capture and storage technologies to phase out fossil fuel emissions while increasing renewable energy, a strategy that would allow countries to fight warming while continuing to produce oil, gas and coal.

“The renewable space is developing and accelerating at breakneck speed, but we are far from saying we can switch off fossil fuels and rely entirely on clean and renewable energy,” Almheiri said on the sidelines of the Agricultural Innovation Mission (AIM) Climate Conference in Washington.

“We are now in a transition period, and this transition needs to be just and pragmatic, because not all countries have the resources,” she added.

The UAE is co-hosting the AIM conference with the US.

At last year’s climate summit in Egypt, more than 80 countries, including the European Union and small island states, agreed to include language in the final result calling for the gradual reduction of all fossil fuels. Countries including Saudi Arabia and China have urged Egypt not to use the language in the final text.

This month, the G7 countries agreed to speed up the phase-out of fossil fuel consumption, but did not set a specific date.

Almheiri pointed to the example of the UAE relying on new carbon capture technologies and renewable energy to reduce the emissions intensity of the OPEC member’s oil and gas operations.

The UAE aims to get 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2050, from the current level of 25 percent, and that it could be strengthened, she said.

Almheiri added that, in addition to energy, the global food supply will be a major focus at COP28 because it accounts for nearly a third of global emissions.

Just as energy, technology and innovation can solve food security problems, Almheiri said, noting that it has helped the UAE, with its arid desert landscape, develop a food security strategy.

Addressing inefficiencies in the global food system would also help tackle malnutrition, food waste and climate change at the same time, she said.

“We are making sure that the food systems dialogue is at the center alongside the energy dialogue at COP28,” she said.

Reporting by Valerie Volkovich; Editing by David Gregorio

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