Sunday, February 20, 2011

Saudi Arabia wants cut of $100 billion adaptation fund

Mridul Chadha in Clean Technica: Saudi Arabia needs special treatment in the disbursement of funds from the $100 billion climate change adaptation fund, this is the proposal that the country has submitted to the United Nations. Saudi Arabia, the largest oil exporter, says that it faces economic vulnerability due to fluctuations in the global oil prices.

Decision to form an international climate change adaption fund was taken during the Copenhagen summit in December 2009 to provide financial help to developing and poor countries to set up clean energy infrastructure and aid technology transfer. United Nations had set a deadline of February 21, 2011 for providing comments and input from all parties involved. Saudi Arabia has said that it would need help develop solar power infrastructure and financial aid to diversify its energy options.

Saudi Arabia says that its economy would feel the pinch of an international climate change resolution as it would impact oil consumption around the world.

Saudi Arabia has has a long history of selfishly looking for its own gains, supporting any step which results in the world’s continued addiction for oil and has vehemently opposed almost all international efforts to curb global carbon emission output and increased use of renewable energy technologies. During the COP10 held at Buenos Aires in 2004, Saudi Arabia had opposed the very aid package for developing countries which it wants a share of now.

In 2009, the OPEC General Secretary said that use of oil is not responsible for climate change and that it is the industrial nations which are responsible for global warming. The statement came at a time when there was buzz about developed countries like the US and Canada considering to levy carbon tax on imported carbon-intensive goods….

Image of sand dunes in Rub' al Khali, Arabia's "empty quarter". Acquired by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, or ASTER, aboard NASA's Terra Earth-orbiting satellite

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