UNITED STATES NEWS

UN climate chief calls fossil fuel phase out key to curbing warming but may not be on talks’ agenda

Jun 4, 2023, 11:01 PM

The world needs to phase out fossil fuels if it wants to curb global warming, the United Nations climate chief said in an interview with The Associated Press. But he said the idea might not make it on to the agenda of “make-or-break” international climate negotiations this fall, run in and by an oil haven.

A phase out of heat-trapping fossil fuels “is something that is at top of every discussion or most discussions that are taking place,” U.N. climate Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said. “It is an issue that has global attention. How that translates into an agenda item and a (climate talks) outcome we will see.”

Stiell told AP he couldn’t quite promise it would get a spot on the agenda in climate talks, called COP28, in Dubai later this year.

That agenda decision is up to the president of the negotiations, Stiell said. He is the head of the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Sultan al-Jaber.

The decision by host nation United Arab Emirates to make al-Jaber the head of the climate conference has drawn said they want game-changing results in the climate talks and note that al-Jaber also runs a large renewable energy company.

Last year at climate talks, a proposal by India to phase out all fossil fuels, supported by the United States and many European nations, never got on the agenda. What gets discussed is decided by the COP president, who last year was the foreign minister of Egypt, a natural gas exporting nation.

When asked if Egypt’s leaders kept the concept off the agenda, Stiell, speaking via Zoom from Bonn, Germany, where preliminary talks start Monday, said he couldn’t comment except to say that “it’s within their purview.”

An engineer-turned government official and diplomat, Stiell walked a fine line between talking about the importance of a fossil fuel phase out and supporting the U.N. process that has put countries that export oil and natural gas in charge of negotiations about global warming for two consecutive years.

About 94% of the heat-trapping carbon dioxide human industrial activity put in the air last year was from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas, according to the scientists who monitor emissions at Global Carbon Project. Al-Jaber’s company has the capacity to produce 2 million barrels of oil and 7 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day and said it plans to increase that drilling to 5 million barrels a day by 2027.

Getting a fossil fuel phase out on the agenda this year depends on the conference president al-Jaber and on whether there is enough pressure from other nations, Stiell said.

“Where better to have a discussion … then in a region where fossil fuels is at the center of their economy?” Stiell asked.

But the issue of a coal, oil and natural gas phase out is so central to Stiell he brought it up four times in the half-hour interview Saturday. He said the real issue is getting something done, not putting it on the agenda.

In public appearances, al-Jaber has emphasized being “laser-focused on phasing out promoting carbon capture and removal of the pollutant from the air.

Stiell dismissed the idea that carbon removal can be a short-term solution.

“Right now, in this critical decade of action to achieve those deep reductions, the science tells us it can only be achieved through the reduced use, significantly reduced use, of all fossil fuels,” Stiell said in the interview.

Stiell defended the back-to-back years of having climate negotiations run in and by fossil fuel-exporting nations as the wishes of the “parties” or countries involved.

This year will be critical because it is the first global stocktake to see where the world is in its efforts to reduce carbon emissions. To reach the to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times, greenhouse gas pollution needs to be cut in half by 2030, he said.

“We know we are a long way from where we need to be,” Stiell said.

This year’s stocktake sets up a new round of pledges for even tighter emissions cuts by telling nations the stark truth of how bad the situation is, Stiell said. The problem hasn’t been nations knowing how bad it is, he said.

“It’s lack of implementation,” Stiell said. “I don’t believe it is the lack of knowledge. There’s been report after report after report that all say the same thing, all with increasing urgency.”

After less than a year on the job, but years as a national negotiator before that, Stiell said he has “gone beyond frustration. What drives me is a desire to make a difference.”

___

Frank Jordans contributed from Berlin.

___

Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

___

Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears

___

Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

United States News

Associated Press

Heavy fighting across Gaza as Israel presses ahead with renewed US military and diplomatic support

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Heavy fighting raged overnight and into Sunday across Gaza, including in the devastated north, as Israel pressed ahead with its offensive after the U.S. blocked the latest international push for a cease-fire and rushed more munitions to its close ally. Israel has faced rising international outrage and calls for a […]

2 hours ago

Pauline Golodoff, left, and George Kudrin hold an iPad featuring images of their deceased spouses, ...

Associated Press

Death of last surviving Alaskan taken by Japan during WWII rekindles memories of forgotten battle

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Gregory Golodoff spent most of his years on a quiet Alaska island, living an ordinary life, managing a co-op store, fishing for crab and serving as the village council president. But Golodoff’s recent death at the age of 84 has reopened a chapter of American history and stirred up memories of […]

5 hours ago

Associated Press

3 people killed and 1 wounded in shooting at Atlanta apartment building, police say

ATLANTA (AP) — A shooting in Atlanta killed three people and left one victim wounded Saturday evening, police say. The Atlanta Police Department said officers responded to an address on Peachtree Road NE in the city’s Buckhead district around 6:25 p.m., WANF-TV reported. Police said three victims in their 20s were pronounced dead at the […]

6 hours ago

Heisman Trophy finalists, from left, LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, Ohio State wide receiver Marvi...

Associated Press

LSU QB Jayden Daniels overcomes being outside CFP race to win Heisman Trophy with prolific season

NEW YORK (AP) — LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, becoming the first player since 2016 to win college football’s most prestigious player of the year award as part of a team that did not play for a conference championship. The fifth-year player, who transferred from Arizona State to LSU […]

8 hours ago

Associated Press

Homes damaged, power knocked out as severe weather rakes Tennessee

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — An apparent tornado tore roofs off homes and knocked out power to thousands in Tennessee on Saturday as a line of severe storms raked the state. Police and firefighters in Clarksville were responding to multiple reports of damage in the northern part of the city, which is north of Nashville near […]

10 hours ago

Associated Press

The NRA has a surprising defender in its free speech case before the Supreme Court: the ACLU

NEW YORK (AP) — In a case of politics making strange bedfellows, the National Rifle Association will be represented by frequent nemesis the American Civil Liberties Union in an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court. The New York-based civil liberties group confirmed Saturday that it would provide legal representation for the gun-rights group in its […]

11 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

Follow @KTAR923...

The best ways to honor our heroes on Veterans Day and give back to the community

Veterans Day is fast approaching and there's no better way to support our veterans than to donate to the Military Assistance Mission.

...

Dierdre Woodruff

Interest rates may have peaked. Should you buy a CD, high-yield savings account, or a fixed annuity?

Interest rates are the highest they’ve been in decades, and it looks like the Fed has paused hikes. This may be the best time to lock in rates for long-term, low-risk financial products like fixed annuities.

...

SCHWARTZ LASER EYE CENTER

Key dates for Arizona sports fans to look forward to this fall

Fall brings new beginnings in different ways for Arizona’s professional sports teams like the Cardinals and Coyotes.

UN climate chief calls fossil fuel phase out key to curbing warming but may not be on talks’ agenda