When the world community was able to present the first ever COP agreement to move the world away from fossil fuels last year, it was described as a historic moment. But now the fluttering of wings may subside. At this year's climate summit, the agreement could result in a setback for the transition away from coal, oil and gas.
A coalition of 22 Arab countries and developing countries such as Uganda are fighting stubbornly to phase out the agreement's ambitions, and they simply refuse to sign an agreement that would phase out fossil fuels - even though it was decided last year.
- The Arab group will not accept any text that targets specific sectors, including fossil fuels, a spokesperson said, according to the AFP news agency.
The resistance to the results from last year is causing concern among Western delegations. EU and Denmark strike back hard
- That's the big problem, and it's mind-boggling that we have to restart the discussions we had last year, said Climate Minister Lars Aagaard (M) on Thursday.
- That's a fairly tough line we have there.
Concito: Statements should probably be taken with a grain of salt
However, there may be reason to take oil reports and concerns with a grain of salt. That's the assessment of Jens Mattias Clausen, responsible for the COP negotiations at the think tank Concito.
He has previously been an advisor to the Danish delegation, and to some extent he sees the statement from the Arab countries as rhetoric. Saudi Arabia is leading the charge.
- And they have a bad habit of speaking on behalf of the Arab group without asking the other countries if they agree.
The group includes, for example, the Emirates, which hosted the decision to phase out fossil fuels last year, and they probably want to hold on to the diplomatic victory that was.
It should be remembered that last year's agreement is not annulled just because the word fossil fuels does not appear in this year's text. The negotiators can therefore make some word games in the last hours that preserve the ambitions.
- It may well be that you don't mention it in exactly the way that Saudi Arabia doesn't want, but as long as you reaffirm what you agreed to last year, it means that you still have an agreement to phase out fossil fuels, says Jens Mattias Clausen.
- You can't just remove that again, because it's been decided.
/ritzau/
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