Climate1 min read

COP31 talks face early friction over future of fossil fuels

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Major fossil fuel producers and consumers, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, India, and the G77, are resisting language that mandates firm phase-out targets or constrains oil, gas, and coal. Host nation Türkiye is floating an electrification strategy to accelerate the shift away from combustion-powered vehicles and equipment without explicitly requiring renewable power. Meanwhile, the European Union insists on clean power integration, and Brazil continues to demand explicit transition roadmaps. Lead negotiator Australia is collecting country submissions through Saturday night before drafting an initial deal text early next week.

Key points

  • Diplomatic clashes between major fossil fuel producers and climate advocates threaten to…: Diplomatic clashes between major fossil fuel producers and climate advocates threaten to derail consensus before the summit concludes next week.
  • Negotiations are unfolding under heightened urgency as United Nations experts warn that g…: Negotiations are unfolding under heightened urgency as United Nations experts warn that global warming is poised to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius.
  • Australia must integrate conflicting national submissions into a viable draft agreement e…: Australia must integrate conflicting national submissions into a viable draft agreement early next week to secure a final deal.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

ANTALYA: Big fossil fuel producers and consumers at the COP31 climate talks are resisting any deal that would specify firm new targets or a shift away from oil, gas and coal, observers said on Friday (Nov 13) as the first week of talks drew to a close.

That poses a challenge for summit host Türkiye and lead negotiator Australia, which has another week to land the kind of ambitious agreement climate advocates say is needed to address the worsening impacts of global warming.

"Positions are still quite entrenched in terms of where they are, but that's pretty normal at this stage," said Cosima Cassel, an observer to the talks from environmental group E3G.

Major oil producers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia have traditionally resisted language constraining fossil fuels, while large developing economies such as India have opposed measures they say could limit their development and energy choices, a dynamic that has compromised the outcomes of past deals.

The world’s biggest oil consumer, the United States, meanwhile, has skipped the talks for the second year in a row under US…

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