Saudis Still Hooked on Oil Habit

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter and one of the world’s top per capita emitters of greenhouse gases, has traditionally voiced little concern about climate.

So there was some surprise when, in advance of the current UN climate change summit in Paris, the country announced that it was aiming to cut back on its C02 emissions.  The problem is that the pledge comes with some important caveats that seem to render the whole exercise meaningless.

More than 180 countries have so far submitted pledges – referred to in UN jargon as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) − to the summit to cut back on emissions of greenhouse gases.

Export revenues

Under the Saudi plan, there will be an annual cutback of up to 130 million tonnes of emissions by 2030.  But they say that such cutbacks will only be made as long as there is “a robust contribution from oil export revenues to the national economy”.

They also warn that should any agreement made at the Paris talks create what is termed an “abnormal burden” on the country’s economy, then the climate-related commitments would be weakened.

Climate Action Tracker (CAT), an independent group that analyses carbon emissions across various sectors, describes Saudi Arabia’s pledges as inadequate and paradoxical.

Despite low global oil prices, Saudi Arabia has been pumping out record levels of oil. Industry analysts say the country is determined to keep its share of the oil market – and is upping production because of fears that oil prices might dip further.

Read more at Saudis Still Hooked on Oil Habit