Kuwait rejects fossil fuel phase-out call
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KUWAIT CITY, Dec 12, (Agencies): Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Oil Minister Dr. Saad Al-Barrak has reaffirmed Kuwait’s rejection of the inclusion of any call for phasing out fossil fuels consumption and production in the COP28 draft final climate deal. In statements to KUNA, Al- Barrak, also minister of state for economic and investment affairs and chairman of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, said that Kuwait deeply believes in the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions to protect the environment. But, this goal could be achieved through the introduction of new technical and control solutions, he argued. The minister noted that ditching fossil fuels would, undoubtedly, gravely impact the global economy and create enormous problems for the energy sector and the development process.
He warned that such a policy would also affect developing countries’ ability to meet their needs and achieve the UN’s sustainable development goals. Bolstering Arab country’s cooperation in the energy sector would enable the region to face global challenges, said Dr. Al- Barrak on Monday. Speaking at the opening of the two-day 12th Arab Energy Conference, held in Doha, Qatar, Dr. Al-Barrak indicated that Arab cooperation was necessary within the domain of energy, saying that it was a collective responsibility on the part of Arab energy producers and exporters. Securing energy supplies and supporting world economic growth was important especially when oil, the world’s major source of energy, was facing a multitude of challenges affecting global demand and prices as a result of policies by some consumer states, said Al-Barrak. He went on to say that, the conference was an invitation to boost cooperation amongst Arab entities and institutes to encourage investments and establish partnerships in various energy fields as well as find opportunities to create jobs and train staff.
Kuwait is keen on joint Arab cooperation, said Al-Barrak who indicated that his country was one of the founding members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) and also hosted the headquarters of the prestigious organization. He affirmed that Kuwait’s energy policy took into consideration the local and international aspects of the energy market, saying that as a founding member of the Organizations of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC), the State of Kuwait was keen on the stability of prices and the balance of global demand and supplies. On the national level, Al-Barrak revealed that Kuwait was keen on safeguarding its petroleum resources, developing them to meet Kuwait’s needs and income as well as providing top-notch products to the world. He affirmed that there were strategies adopted by Kuwait to nationalize advanced petroleum technologies and train national staff and labor to handle operations within Kuwait and abroad in addition to involving the private sector in the various stages of the petroleum industry.
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