(VOVWORLD) - State leaders and representatives of international organizations at the International Climate and Energy Summit in Madrid on Monday backed the Netherlands’ call for an international coalition to phase out fossil subsidies. Fossil fuel is believed the main reason to cause global warming.
 At the International Climate and Energy Summit in Madrid on October 02, 2023 (Photo: laprensalatina.com) |
The idea of setting up an international coalition to phase out subsidies and tax breaks tied to the use of fossil fuels was proposed by Dutch Climate Minister Rob Jetten, who said the Dutch government will strongly lobby for this alliance to come into being in the coming weeks before the United Nations Climate Summit - COP 28 will take place in Dubai from November 30 to December 12.
The proposal received widespread support at the summit. The International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol said that building a clear roadmap to phase out fossil fuels is one of the five conditions for the upcoming COP 28 summit to be considered successful. Other conditions include tripling global capital expenditure on renewables, a doubling of energy efficiency improvements and an agreement on mechanisms to support clean energy financing in emerging countries.
Teresa Ribera, Minister of Energy of Spain, the host country of the summit and also the country holding the rotating Presidency of the European Council, said the EU is also racing against time so that by the middle of this month, a specific plan on phasing out fossil fuels can be announced. The establishment of the coalition would be the first step.
 Former Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra (Photo: EU) |
Also on Monday, former Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra, who almost certainly was elected by the European Parliament as European Commissioner in charge of climate action on Tuesday, said that they would be tougher with oil and gas corporations.
“Fossil fuels must become history. The sooner the better,” said Hoekstra, adding, “The fact that certain oil majors have long known of their role in climate change and sought to ignore the evidence, and if anything, it increases in my view their responsibility to contribute to solving climate change.”
At the press conference at the end of the Summit in Madrid, COP 28 President, Sultan Al Jaber of the UAE, said about 20 oil and gas corporations expressed their support for the world to achieve the set goal carbon neutrality by 2050 and the corporations also committed to cutting all methane emissions by 2030.