Saudi Arabia was yesterday accused of trying to undermine efforts to combat climate change at Glasgow’s Cop26 summit.
The desert kingdom, one of the world’s biggest oil producers, allegedly wants to remove a statement on the cover of the summit’s final outcome document stating the objective of the meeting is to keep global warming to below 1.5C.
All summit decisions require a consensus. The UK Government has said ‘keeping 1.5 alive’ is a key Cop26 aim.
Greenpeace said the ‘cover decision’ is the ‘top line message’ of the summit – and said its absence would cripple efforts to stick to the 1.5C goal.
Saudi Arabia was yesterday accused of trying to undermine efforts to combat climate change at Glasgow’s Cop26 summit
According to the pressure group, Saudi Arabia was also blocking climate funding to countries in need.
Its international executive director, Jennifer Morgan, said Saudi Arabia was ‘at the chess board, manipulating the pieces in an effort to stop an outcome that keeps 1.5C within reach’.
Saudi negotiators have the ability to subvert talks, as they require consensus from all 196 participants. This means any one country can block progress.
Ms Morgan added: ‘The push on Friday night to block a cover decision was a textbook effort to strip ambition from the final text, while the move to dilute substance on the adaptation goal was designed to ensure vulnerable countries don’t get the support they need and therefore can’t sign up to a meaningful agreement at the end of this week.
All summit decisions require a consensus. The UK Government has said ‘keeping 1.5 alive’ is a key Cop26 aim
‘It’s smart, strategic and utterly cynical.
‘Other governments now need to isolate the Saudi delegation if they want this COP to succeed for everyone, not just fossil fuel interests.’
Saudi Arabia has been revealed as having pushed to remove statements from United Nations documents about fossil fuels causing climate change.
We reached out to the Saudi government for comments.