Russia says it will oppose plan to phase out fossil fuels

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Russia has warned it will oppose a global deal to reduce the use of fossil fuels, as tensions with western powers following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine threaten to derail this year’s UN climate summit.

The US and EU member states are among a large group of countries calling for a timeline to phase out the use of fossil fuels where emissions are not captured and stored ahead of the COP28 climate summit, which begins in late November in Dubai.

However, in a submission to the UN’s climate body, Russia said: “We oppose any provisions or outcomes that somehow discriminate or call for phaseout of any specific energy source or fossil fuel type.”

Moscow’s position is in stark contrast to that adopted by the US, which says unabated emissions from fossil fuels need to be rapidly reduced to achieve a net zero energy system by mid-century. Russia remains the third-largest crude producer despite caps imposed on its output after its invasion of Ukraine, according to the US-based Energy Information Administration.

Its uncompromising stance highlights how resistance from some of the leading oil, gas and coal producers could undermine a new climate pact.   

More than 180 countries and other global bodies are setting out their views as they prepare to undertake tough negotiations ahead of COP28, with the submissions compiled by the UN in a “blueprint” report published on Wednesday. The so-called stock-take, which will be agreed at COP28, will look at actions countries have taken since the 2015 Paris Agreement and what still needs to be done to tackle global warming.

More than 80 countries backed a proposal at COP27 in Egypt last year to gradually dump fossil fuels, which are by far the largest contributor to climate change, accounting for about three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions. 

Under the Paris Agreement, countries agreed to limit global temperature rises to well below 2C and ideally 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. To achieve this, scientists from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change say greenhouse gas emissions need to fall by 43 per cent by 2030 compared with 2019.

The UN’s report also revealed an emerging clash between wealthy and developing countries. Many developed countries, where greenhouse gas emissions peaked decades ago, have set a target to reach net zero emissions by 2050. This is the same timeframe as many developing countries, where funding to finance the green transition is more difficult to access.

Simon Stiell, UN climate chief, said there was “divergence” among countries over “who should carry the weightier burden in terms of action” to limit warming. But Stiell said the report was clear that the world was “off-track to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement”.

The report said some countries wanted the COP28 stock-take to acknowledge that the rich nations’ commitments were “grossly lacking in ambition”. Some countries are already pushing back on those targets. Last month, UK prime minister Rishi Sunak announced a series of U-turns on the country’s net zero targets.

It also outlined actions countries could take to get the world back on track, including tripling renewable energy capacity, improving energy efficiency and cutting transport-related emissions, as well as scaling up financing to developing countries. 

The UN revealed last month that the world must take urgent action to avert a temperature rise of up to 2.6C by 2100.

Dan Jørgensen, Denmark’s minister for global climate policy, who is one of two politicians leading discussions with other countries on the stock-take, said countries would have to agree a “broad compromise” on a host of topics at COP28, including how to mitigate climate change, how to adapt economies for the impact of global warming and how to finance the green transition.  

“There’s a momentum that this will be the most important COP since Paris,” he said. “Not only is this where we take stock and look each other in the eyes and say, ‘OK, so where are we and where are the gaps between action and ambition?’. Also, we need to look forward. What are we to do now to close these gaps?”