Guardian

ORGANISATION of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has stressed the need for member countries to be committed to the Kyoto Protocol to reduce emissions globally.

OPEC Secretary General, Abdalla Salem El-Badri, while speaking at the United Nation’s Climate Change Conference in Doha, Qatar, said that it was crucial that the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol begins in 2013 in an effective manner, with ambitious limitation or reduction objectives for emissions.

According to him, developed countries, given their historical responsibility, should take the lead in mitigation and adaptation efforts.

“This includes using their extensive financial and technological capabilities to help developing countries with their nationally-appropriate mitigation actions and adaptation activities.

“Important negotiations have begun under the Ad-Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform (ADP) for Enhanced Action. These negotiations should be transparent, country-led and inclusive, and based upon the principles and provisions of the UNFCCC, ” he added.

El-Badri stated that OPEC member countries were developing countries, whose economies are heavily dependent on petroleum export revenue. They contribute to satisfying world energy needs and, thus, to the health of the global economy.

“They are doubly vulnerable, to the effects of climate change, and to the adverse impacts of response measures. In this regard, the provisions contained in the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol should be fully implemented – including through the ADP process – to minimise these adverse impacts and to assist OPEC Member Countries to adapt by diversifying their economies through increased investment and technology transfer,” he said.

He added that OPEC Member Countries were making huge efforts to protect the environment, such as through gas flaring reduction, supplying cleaner petroleum products, investing in carbon capture and storage, developing hybrid solar-natural gas power stations and solar desalination units. “They also invest in research and development for cleaner energy.

“OPEC Member Countries are also very active in alleviating energy poverty. In this regard, the OPEC Fund for International Development committed $1 billion to facilitate access to modern energy services in poor countries.

“Our Member Countries are committed to reaching a comprehensive, balanced outcome to the negotiations based on a full consensus. This outcome should be ‘win-win’ in nature and recognise the diverse interests of all parties to the Convention,” he said.