The Saudi Arabian delegation to the global climate conference in Monaco is blocking the adoption of a major UN report on oceans and climate change by refusing to accept the target of a 1.5 percent rise in global temperatures.
The meeting of the 195-nation Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in Monaco remained deadlocked early on Tuesday, with some delegates tweeting pictures of the sun rising over the Principality. A 30-page executive summary is due to be released on the morning of Wednesday, September 25.
“It has been 24 hours and there has been absolutely no compromise from the Saudis,” said one participant. “They are undermining the science underlying this report, and it is despicable.” Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter, and has raised similar objections to other IPCC reports.
“It really seems like Saudi Arabia only came to this meeting to block any language on 1.5C,” a participant in the Monaco meeting told news agency AFP.
Under the IPCC’s consensus rules, all countries must agree the language of a 30-page Summary for Policymakers, designed to provide leaders with objective, science-based information. The Saudis have rejected a sentence that would read: “This assessment reinforces findings in IPCC Special Report on 1.5 C,” along with two other UN science reports released over the six months, one on biodiversity and another on land use and food systems. The 2015 Paris Agreement calls for capping global warming at well below”2 C, and 1.5 C if possible.
PHOTO: A Saudi oil installation BBC
