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Cop: African producers open to fossil fuel phase down

  • : Crude oil, Electricity, Emissions, Natural gas
  • 23/12/12

Sub-Saharan African oil and gas producers will vehemently oppose the inclusion a phase-out of all fossil fuels in the final Cop 28 text, but would be prepared to back a 'phase-down' language so long as their national circumstances are taken into account.

Nigeria's environment minister Isiaq Adekunle Salako told Argus that the country, which was one of 130 nations to back a pledge to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030, is prepared to back a just and orderly phase down in production and use of fossil fuels that he felt was "inevitable."

"Nigeria has identified gas as its fuel of choice for the transition. So as we develop our renewables, we will also reduce our use of fossil fuels," he said. "So a phase-down, taking into consideration our local circumstances ꟷ yes, that is acceptable," he added. "But a phase out ꟷ absolutely not."

Nigeria — Opec's largest African oil producer — cannot not support a text calling for the phase-out of fossil fuel production or consumption as it would be tantamount to economic suicide, he said.

"The science has established that if you stop breathing, without life support, you will die. And asking Nigeria to phase out fossil fuel, or asking Africa to phase out fossil fuel, is asking us to stop breathing without life support," Salako said. "This is not acceptable."

Nigeria's economy is heavily reliant on hydrocarbons, with revenues from oil and gas exports representing just shy of 43pc of the country's total export revenue last year, according to the IMF.

The country is also pursuing a plan to boost its crude output to 2.6mn b/d by 2027, compared with an average 1.43mn b/d in September-November, and gas output to 98.9bn m³/yr over the same period, more than double the 40.4bn m³/yr produced in 2022.

Differentiated pathways

Uganda's energy minister, Ruth Nankabirwa backed Salako saying that her country, which is due to start oil production from its first project in 2025, would also only support a phase down of fossil fuels.

"We would accept a phasing down [of fossil fuels in the text], but not a phasing out," Nankabirwa told Argus. But even the phase down would need to take into account country's national circumstances, she said.

"We are only just starting [our production of] fossil fuels," she said. "But those who have been polluting, those who have been enjoying that space, must first indicate their roadmap for phasing out. Countries like Uganda must also do the same, but on a different path, a different timeline," she said.

The Cop 28 draft refers broadly to the Paris Agreement's "principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances". But the fossil fuel text currently does not have a different timeline for developed and developing countries to reduce production and use, which some developing countries, including in Africa and Latin America, have pushed for. Spain's climate minister Teresa Ribera, representing the EU, suggested earlier in the summit that there could be room to capture countries' differences circumstances on fossil fuels in the text, saying that "big emitters need to make a great effort".

Touching on the issue of transition financing for developing countries ꟷ financial support from developed nations for investments in alternative energies ꟷ Nankabirwa said that progress remains limited at best.

"We are still at the same point. We're not seeing adequate financing, and we are not seeing predictable financing," Nankabirwa said. That is why we are emphasizing this point here, at Cop 28, so that it's captured," she added.


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24/11/14

Cop: ADB, Kazakhstan tie up on early coal retirement

Cop: ADB, Kazakhstan tie up on early coal retirement

Singapore, 14 November (Argus) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Kazakhstan signed an agreement at the UN Cop 29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan on 13 November to collaborate on the possible early retirement of a coal plant in Kazakhstan. The ADB and Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy signed the agreement to work on a pilot transaction to reduce the country's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, possibly through decommissioning or repurposing a pilot coal plant for renewables or other low-carbon energy technologies. The partners will conduct a feasibility study to identify which plant among a selection of coal-fired power generation, combined heat and power plants, and heat-only boilers could be viable for early retirement. The parties also agreed to analyse the impact that the early decommissioning of the plant could have on Kazakhstan's power and heat supply, and will work together on developing the country's renewable energy generation capacity, and promote regional energy trade. The agreement comes under the ADB's Energy Transition Mechanism, which aims to support the shift away from coal-fired power plants. Kazakhstan is estimated to be the eighth-largest consumer of coal worldwide, with some 25bn t of reserves, said the ADB. About 70pc of the country's electricity is produced from coal, according to the IEA. The country earlier this year projected that it will use 8.6mn t of thermal coal for its heating season this year. State-run Kazakh Invest announced in October that Chinese companies plan to invest billions of dollars in Kazakhstan's coal sector, including the construction of a power plant, even as the country plans to develop new gas fields with a total production capacity of 1bn m³/yr, to switch away from coal for power generation and domestic consumption. By Prethika Nair Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Cop: Argentina pulls delegation from Baku


24/11/13
24/11/13

Cop: Argentina pulls delegation from Baku

Montevideo, 13 November (Argus) — Argentina's government today withdrew its delegation from the UN Cop 29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan. The country's foreign affairs ministry confirmed to Argus that the delegation had been told to leave the event, which began on 11 November and will run through 22 November. No reason was given for the decision, but it fits the general policies of President Javier Milei, who has expressed skepticism about climate change. Milei eliminated the country's environment ministry shortly after taking office in December 2023. He is also pursuing investment to monetize oil and gas reserves, with a focus on the Vaca Muerta unconventional formation. Vaca Muerta has an estimated 308 trillion cf of natural gas and 16bn bl of oil, according to the US Energy Information Administration. In October, the government created the Argentina LNG division with a plan to involve private companies and the state-owned YPF to produce and export up to 30mn metric tonnes (t)/yr of LNG by 2030. It wants to export 1mn bl of crude. The plans are closely linked to a new investment framework, known as RIGI, that will provide incentives for large-scale investments. The administration is also pushing hard for investment in critical minerals, including copper and lithium. Argentina has the world's second-largest lithium resources, estimated at 22mn t by the US Geological Survey. It has copper potential that the RIGI would help tap. The government has not specified if pulling out of Cop 29 means Argentina will withdraw from the Paris Agreement, which Argentina ratified in 2016. The country's nationally determined contribution calls for net emissions not to exceed 359mn t of CO2 by 2030. This represents a 21pc reduction of emissions from the maximum reached in 2007. By Lucien Chauvin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Cop: French energy minister cancels visit to Baku


24/11/13
24/11/13

Cop: French energy minister cancels visit to Baku

London, 13 November (Argus) — French energy minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher on Wednesday cancelled her planned visit to the UN Cop 29 climate summit in Baku, over what she called host Azerbaijan's "unacceptable remarks" on France and Europe. The minister had planned to arrive in Baku on 20 November, to take part in negotiations in the second week of the conference. The French president was not represented in high-level meetings this week, for the first time since the Cop 21 conference in Paris in 2015. "The direct attacks against our country, its institutions and its territories are unjustifiable," Pannier-Runacher told the French senate this afternoon. Azeri president Ilham Aliyev today raised "the so-called overseas territories of France and the Netherlands," while addressing a summit of leaders of small island states. The voice of the populations of the two countries' overseas territories are "often brutally suppressed by the regimes in the metropolis," he said. Aliyev criticised France's response to unrest and protests in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia earlier this year. He called the European parliament and Parliamentary assembly of the council of Europe "symbols of political corruption," and said they shared responsibility with French president Emmanuel Macron for deaths during the events. "Azerbaijan is instrumentalising the fight against climate change for an unworthy personal agenda," Pannier-Runacher said. "It is ironic that Azerbaijan, a repressive and liberticidal regime, is giving lessons in human rights," she said. And the minister criticised Azerbaijan's statements on fossil fuels. President Aliyev yesterday called oil and gas a "gift of god," and said producer countries should not be blamed for supplying market demand. French negotiating teams will work as usual at the conference, with her support from France, Pannier-Runacher said. "We will continue to advocate for the highest level of ambition in the implementation of the Paris Agreement, of which we are the guardians, ten years after its achievement," she said. France had hoped to keep its long-running diplomatic dispute with Azerbaijan under wraps during this Cop. Pannier-Runacher's visit was planned in a climate optic, rather than a bilateral one, with the intention of keeping the two countries' link to the side, a member of the minister's cabinet told Argus last week. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

No sign of peak in CO2 from fossil fuels: Report


24/11/13
24/11/13

No sign of peak in CO2 from fossil fuels: Report

London, 13 November (Argus) — Carbon emissions from fossil fuels are projected to hit a fresh record high of 37.4bn t in 2024, with "no sign" that these have peaked, a team of scientists said today in the 2024 Global Carbon Budget report. Total CO2 emissions are projected to reach 41.6bn t in 2024, up from 40.6bn t in 2023, which includes emissions of around 4.2bn t from land-use change, the report found. It also estimates the global carbon budget remaining before the 1.5°C temperature limit set out in the Paris climate agreement is "breached consistently over multiple years". The remaining carbon budget "has almost run out", the report found. There is a 50pc chance that warming will exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels "consistently in about six years", the report found. There is uncertainty around the estimates, largely owed to the effects of other greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as methane and nitrous oxide, it noted. The Paris accord seeks to limit a rise in global temperature to "well below" 2°C above a pre-industrial average, and preferably to 1.5°C. This year is on track to be the hottest on record , the World Meteorological Organisation said on 11 November — the opening day of the UN Cop 29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan. And drought conditions have helped to reverse a recent downward trend in CO2 emissions from land-use change — such as deforestation — in 2024. Those emissions are set to rise in 2024, after falling by 20pc in the past decade, the report found. Permanent CO2 removals from reforestation and planting new trees is "offsetting about half of the permanent deforestation emissions", it added. And the report authors noted that technology-based carbon removals — typically engineered, rather than nature-based — are at current levels only able to account for one-millionth of the CO2 emissions from fossil fuels. Projections for the highest-emitting countries — China, the US and India — are mixed. China's emissions are projected to increase by 0.2pc in 2024, although the report noted that the range means they could decrease. US emissions are set to drop by 0.6pc, while India's are projected to rise by 4.6pc this year. The Global Carbon Budget report — which will be peer-reviewed — is produced annually by an international team of more than 120 scientists. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Cop: Brazil aims for 67pc GHG reduction goal by 2035


24/11/13
24/11/13

Cop: Brazil aims for 67pc GHG reduction goal by 2035

Baku, 13 November (Argus) — Brazil energy minister Marina Silva said that the country is aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 67pc by 2035, compared with 2005 levels, but has failed to explain how oil exploration and production fits in the new ambition. Silva explained today that the country is aiming to reach the top end of its 59-67pc range by 2035, which was shared last week before the UN Cop 29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan. The announcement had raised some doubts from climate experts about Brazil's ambition under its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) — climate plan. Silva said today that the range is to account for potential elements that could impact the country's climate plan, such as inflation. "We are focused on having absolute emissions of 850mn CO2e [by 2035]," she said today. "We encourage other countries to having equally ambitious goals." Brazil's new NDC is much more than a figure, Silva said. She described it as a "new paradigm for the social and economic development" of the country. She failed to explain what the new climate goal would mean for oil exploration and production in the country, and Brazil's vice-president Geraldo Ackmin highlighted the potential of Brazil's biofuels industry instead. "Around 85pc of Brazil's fleet is running on flexible engine cars using ethanol," he said. He pointed out to Brazil's potential to lead in sustainable aviation fuels and green hydrogen production thanks to its abundant feedstocks. Responding to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev comments that oil and gas is a "gift of god", Silva said that "gods does give us gifts and we should take them with moderation." "If we have too much sugar we will be diabetic," she said. Some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) said that the new NDC is not in line with limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Brazilian climate think tank Observatorio do Clima criticised the government for not increasing its targets for 2030 and for its failure to announce a plan to end the expansion of fossil fuel production. Oil Change International reiterated that Brazil's goal of being on the "forefront of the global energy transition" is incompatible with its plants to increase oil production over the next decade. Money in trillions Commenting on climate finance negotiations, Silva said that developed economies need to increase their efforts towards delivering financing support to developing countries, and that money needs to be "in trillions". "It is not happening at the speed needed," she added. Cop parties must agree at Cop 29 on a new collective quantified goal (NCQG) — the new finance goal — building on the current $100bn/yr target that developed countries agreed to deliver to developing countries over 2020-25. Brazil's secretary for climate, energy and environment Andre Correa said that developing countries are already frustrated by the fact that the $100bn/yr target was missed. Developed nations surpassed the goal by $15.9bn in 2022, but it was missed in 2020 and 2021, according to the OECD. Some developing countries say it has never been met. Developed countries are calling for a broadening of the contributor base, to include nations whose economic circumstances have changed since the UNFCCC was established in 1992. But Correa said that it would not be fair for rich nations to expect that developing economies contribute in the next finance goal as it is not under the rules of the Paris Agreement. "The discussion has been deviated," he said. "Taking into account that developed countries did not achieve the first attempt, it is reasonable to not ask developing economies to pay." By Jacqueline Echevarria Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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