LOC14:34
11:34 GMT
By KUNA team (with HLT-UN-CLIMATE series)
BALI, Indonesia, Dec 11 (KUNA) -- Members of OPEC and OAPEC are adamantly
refusing all calls for reducing gas emission partly because of forecast impact
on their national economies, said Kuwaiti Oil Undersecretary Abbas Naqi on
Tuesday.
This decision was taken by the oil-producing countries because of the
negative impact such a reduction would have on their economies, he told KUNA
on the sidelines of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
meeting.
As for the coordination meetings between Gulf member states and other
oil-producing countries, Naqi said, "Our stances are identical." There are no
differences between GCC member states in this area, he said.
Moreover, he noted that Kuwait and the rest of the Gulf states played an
active role in placing the 2008-2012 Kyoto Protocol, noting that negotiations
were ongoing over the agreement that would be implemented after the protocol
ended.
The Kuwaiti official expressed surprise over demands of the industrialized
nations that developing countries had to abide by the Kyoto Protocol at a time
when they had not adhered to it.
He said, however, that his country's decision over the emission did not
conflict with its efforts for environmental protection, noting that Kuwait was
among the first OPEC members to establish a climate-related authority -- the
National Committee for Climate Change was set up in 1994.
This committee, which Naqi heads, coordinates between the different local
authorities as well as OPEC and OAPEC in line with the UNFCCC and Kyoto
Protocol, while maintaining the interests of the state as an oil-producer.
(end)
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KUNA 111434 Dec 07NNNN