Saudi Arabia and its allies had two words they didn’t want to see repeated in a COP29 deal: “fossil fuels.” The faction got their way after two weeks of bitter negotiations in Azerbaijan, reversing gains made in earlier climate talks and helping to knock this year’s proceedings off track.
The Gulf state surprised the world at COP28 when it joined nearly 200 nations in agreeing to transition away from fossil fuels, but it’s been trying to walk that historic moment back ever since. “The Arab Group will not accept any text that targets specific sectors, including fossil fuels,” Saudi representative Albara Tawfiq made clear to delegates at this month’s United Nations meeting in Baku.
They got what they wanted. Negotiators passed a climate finance deal that will see developing countries get $300 billion annually by 2035 to combat global warming. But they didn’t recommit specifically to move away from the dirty energy sources that compound the problem — something the US, European Union and other countries pressed for in exchange for the funds.
After three decades of being the main opposition at the annual climate talks, the Saudis have developed a sophisticated playbook, according to veteran negotiators. They are masters of the arcane and complicated rules that govern the COP process, said multiple people who participated in the closed-door debates, and used that skill to raise oblique objections to run down the clock and present poor compromises that were non-starters.
The Saudi Energy Ministry didn’t respond to questions about the COP29 negotiations.
Saudi Arabia’s increasing aptitude at navigating the byzantine bureaucracy of UN climate talks sets up a tough fight at next year’s COP30 in Brazil. After two years of being led by petrostates, the summit will turn to a progressive government who has made clear it wants to seek an ambitious deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions. But the meeting will also be reshaped by the incoming Trump administration which would, at the very least, be less engaged in the process and could even lend support to nations that want to further entrench fossil fuels in the global economy.
