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) kt.ema KUNA 111434 Dec 07NNNN