Nations meet to discuss fossil fuel exit as Iran war drives up prices
By Kate Abnett
BRUSSELS, April 27 (Reuters) – Nearly 60 governments, including Brazil, Germany, Canada and Nigeria, will hold the first international meeting this week to discuss phasing out fossil fuels as the Iran war roils global oil and gas markets and prices soar.
A meeting of ministers and officials in Santa Marta, Colombia, starting on Tuesday, will focus on practical steps to move economies away from fossil fuels, rather than setting new global targets of the kind agreed at UN climate summits.
“We’re not bargaining on targets, we’re not bargaining on commitments. This is actually about sharing how you do it,” said Dutch Climate Minister Stientje van Veldhoven, who organized the meeting together with Colombia.
He said governments will discuss “what kind of fiscal tools, what kind of regulatory incentives, what kind of planning tools” are needed to begin the phase-out.
The talks will also discuss how to create investment conditions for industries to switch from gas to electricity and how to reform fossil fuel subsidies.
The meeting brings together a coalition of eager nations, notably absent from China and the United States, the world’s two biggest polluters. Saudi Arabia and other major Middle East oil and gas producers are also not attending the meeting.
The Iran war has exposed many countries’ heavy dependence on oil and gas imports, with Asian economies hit by fuel shortages and European countries facing rising energy costs.
Van Veldhoven said the energy crisis reinforces the idea of phasing out oil and gas not only to combat climate change but to support economic and energy security.
“This war in the Middle East has consequences all over the world because of our dependence on fossil fuels,” he said. “The less dependent you are, the less vulnerable you are.”
The meeting also reflects frustration with some governments’ slow progress at annual UN climate talks, where nearly 200 countries must agree to resolutions by consensus.
Countries agreed to move away from fossil fuels at the COP28 climate summit in 2023. But subsequent COP meetings have done little to advance that pledge, with countries including Saudi Arabia blocking recent proposals targeting fossil fuels.
Carbon dioxide emissions from burning coal, oil and gas are the main cause of climate change.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett. Editing by Mark Potter)
