Climate Change Conference in Dubai Faces Serious Obstacles; Talks for Final Agreement Continue on Wednesday

The issuance of the final resolution of the 28th Climate Change Conference held in Dubai was postponed to Wednesday due to the opposition of a large number of members to its draft and disagreements over fossil fuels. At least 100 countries, including the United States and the European Union, called for an emphasis on the need for a 'gradual phase-out of fossil fuels' in the conference resolution, but this demand faced strong resistance from members of the OPEC oil-producing group and their allies. John Kerry, the U.S. Special Envoy for Climate, said late Tuesday after a meeting with representatives from several delegations that the issue of fossil fuels needs to be addressed more seriously in the text of the agreement. Jennifer Morgan, Germany's climate envoy, also stated that negotiations have now entered a critical phase, with serious discussions ongoing between representatives of two viewpoints. It is expected that the 28th conference will reach a new draft text on Wednesday, and at the end of the day, the final agreement will be presented in a public session. The draft published on Monday proposed eight options that countries 'can' adopt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One of these proposals was 'to reduce the consumption and production of fossil fuels in a fair, orderly, and just manner and to reach absolute zero by 2050.' However, scientists say that to prevent worsening climate change, the complete phase-out of fossil fuels must happen sooner. They argue that a gradual phase-out of fossil fuels significantly helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and consequently prevents the increase in global temperatures. Majid Al-Suwaidi, Secretary-General of the annual UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, stated, 'The draft prepared on Monday was presented to representatives of 200 countries to convey their opinions to us, and if all these countries want, the issue of fossil fuels will certainly be addressed in this resolution.' During the Tuesday session of the climate conference in Dubai, Azerbaijan was selected as the host for the 29th UN Climate Change Conference. The European Union criticized OPEC member countries on Saturday, December 9, for opposing the agreement to reduce fossil fuel consumption. Reuters also reported that it had obtained a letter in which Haitham Al-Ghais, Secretary-General of OPEC, urged OPEC Plus member countries to reject any agreement targeting fossil fuels. Mehrdad Hariri stated that the climate conference in Dubai had significant achievements, including regarding pollutants. Efforts to reach a final agreement at the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai saw the participation of over 100,000 people from 200 countries. Experts say that investment in fossil fuels continues, and activists have widely criticized the draft of the 28th Climate Change Conference agreement for not addressing global warming effectively. Experts also noted that the rate of global warming has been much less than predicted. The Kremlin reported that Putin discussed 'sensitive issues' in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The UAE is investing $270 billion in renewable energy.