Saudi authorities crack down on illegal housing splits, fines up to SR200,000    Trump administration pulls US out of Unesco again    Saudi Arabia launches first academy for arts and culture in public education    Saudi investment delegation arrives in Damascus for landmark economic forum    Saudi Arabia launches first pilot phase of self-driving vehicles in Riyadh    Philippines goods to face 19% tariff, Trump says    Israel's allies see evidence of war crimes in Gaza mounting up    Idaho student killer heads to prison, but mysteries in the case remain    Thousands pay tribute to veteran Indian communist leader    Al Ahli steps in for Al Hilal at Saudi Super Cup in Hong Kong    Music stars and fans pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne    Al-Qaryan Group executes multiple dismantling and recycling projects for Saudi Water Authority    Shahad Ameen's Hijra selected for 82nd Venice Film Festival spotlight    Saudi films earn SR100 million at box office in 2025    Saudi Arabia issues new regulations for fine dining restaurants    Saudi researchers develop 25 advanced semiconductor chips to drive R&D    Al Hilal withdraws from 2025 Saudi Super Cup in Hong Kong; SAFF to consider Al Ahli as replacement    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach – game review A human journey in a fractured world    José Semedo named acting CEO of Al Nassr    Aubameyang exits Al Qadsiah as club turns to youth with Retegui signing    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Oil and gas are a 'gift of God', says COP29 host
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 13 - 11 - 2024

The president of COP29's host country has told the UN climate conference that oil and gas are a "gift of God".
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev criticized "Western fake news" about the country's emissions and said nations "should not be blamed" for having fossil fuel reserves.
The country plans to expand gas production by up to a third over the next decade.
Shortly afterward, UN chief António Guterres told the conference that doubling down on the use of fossil fuels was "absurd".
He said the "clean energy revolution" had arrived and that no government could stop it.
Separately, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer pledged further reductions on emissions, saying the UK will now aim for an 81% decrease by 2035. The UK called for other countries to match the new target.
"Make no mistake, the race is on for the clean energy jobs of the future, the economy of tomorrow, and I don't want to be in the middle of the pack — I want to get ahead of the game," Sir Keir told the conference.
Some observers had expressed concerns about the world's largest climate conference taking place in Azerbaijan.
Its minister for ecology and natural resources — a former oil executive that spent 26 years at Azerbaijan's state-owned oil and gas company Socar – is the conference's chairman.
There are also concerns that Azerbaijani officials are using COP29 to boost investment in the country's national oil and gas company.
But addressing the conference on its second day, President Aliyev said Azerbaijan had been subject to "slander and blackmail" ahead of COP29.
He said it had been as if "Western fake news media", charities and politicians were "competing in spreading disinformation... about our country".
Aliyev said the country's share in global gas emissions was "only 0.1%".
"Oil, gas, wind, sun, gold, silver, copper, all... are natural resources and countries should not be blamed for having them, and should not be blamed for bringing these resources to the market, because the market needs them."
Oil and gas are a major cause of climate change because they release planet-warming greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide when burned for energy.
The US is also under the spotlight at the conference, following the election victory of Donald Trump — a known climate skeptic.
On Monday, US President Joe Biden's envoy John Podesta called out president-elect Trump's view that climate change was a hoax and said the US team would continue to work on the deal passed at COP28 in 2023.
He added that Washington was also working on a deal passed last year in Dubai to triple renewable power by 2030.
Addressing the conference in Baku on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Guterres decried "doubling down on fossil fuels".
"The sound you hear is the ticking clock," he said.
"We are in the final countdown to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and time is not on our side."
He called 2024 a "masterclass in climate destruction" with disasters being "supercharged by human-made climate change".
The UN's World Meteorological Organization previously said that 2024 is on track to be the world's warmest year on record.
Guterres said "a new finance goal" was needed, with the wealthiest countries paying the most.
"They are the largest emitters, with the greatest capacities and responsibilities," he said.
"Developing countries must not leave Baku empty-handed."
The Azerbaijani president's comments are unlikely to derail talks behind the scenes, which are largely about getting more cash for poorer countries to help implement their climate plans.
Developing nations are calling for richer countries to agree together on a fund that could add up to $1 trillion, using public and private money.
Leaders of most of the world's biggest polluters were not present in Baku, including Biden, France's leader Emmanuel Macron and India's Narendra Modi.
The environment minister for Burkino Faso, a central African country among the poorest in the world, told the BBC that more cash was essential.
Roger Baro said it would help his nation deal with the current impacts of climate change in the country, which is experiencing widespread drought, flash floods and disease outbreaks.
The disasters occurred in the Sahel region, which saw temperatures of 45C this year in a heatwave that scientists said would have been impossible to reach without climate change.
Among other world leaders to take to the stage on Tuesday was Spain's prime minister, who called for "drastic measures" after floods killed more than 200 people in the country.
Experts say that climate change contributed to the heavy rainfall that caused the floods.
"We need to undergo decarbonization, adapt our towns and infrastructure," said Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
COP29 is scheduled to last until 22 November, but there are already fears that the tricky issues on the table could make a final agreement very difficult. — BBC


Clic here to read the story from its source.