Saudi Arabia is in the spotlight for a blanket refusal earlier this week to agree to phase-out hydrocarbons, positioning us as a potential spoiler in the final week of COP28. But the Kingdom’s policy was (and remains) consistent: Proceeds from the sale of oil and gas aren’t just key to Saudi’s drive to build a diverse, non-oil economy — hydrocarbons are critical to economic development around the world.

“Fossil fuels will be with us for many, many decades to come,” Saudi climate envoy Adel Al Jubeir told Arab News in an interview on Tuesday, reiterating the government’s belief that “it is inconceivable to have economic development without having energy at reasonable prices — and fossil fuels provide that, oil and gas in particular.”

That doesn't mean KSA isn’t investing heavily in everything green: Saudi Arabia has strategically directed investments totaling USD 186 bn into more than 80 projects and counting, Al Jubeir said, emphasizing the Kingdom’s core position: The fight against global warming isn’t about hydrocarbons in the fuel mix — it’s about reaching net zero, full stop.

Walking the talk: The Kingdom and the COP28 Presidency jointly launched a landmark Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGCD) in a bid to cut operational emissions from the sector by 2050, according to a statement by COP28 earlier this week. Aramco is one of the headline backers of the agreement. We have the details here.

Policymakers are all singing from the same hymn sheet: “The countries that call for a reduction in production of oil and gas, they should start with themselves… I haven’t seen any of those countries come up with a timeline for reducing their own production of oil and gas, much less coal, which is a much, much worse polluter,” Al Jubeir said. Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman echoed similar statements this week as he stressed opposition to a full fossil fuel phase out. “I’m not naming names. But those countries who really believe in phasing out and phasing down hydrocarbons, you should come out and put together a plan for how to start the first of January 2024," he told Bloomberg TV.

Some of the smallest oil producing nations including Denmark, Spain and France have made plans to stop drilling, according to data seen by Reuters — easy when you don’t make the list of top 30 global oil producers and have already built up the same renewable and nuclear energy industries that other countries are now scrambling to create.

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