A deadlock on fossil fuels phasedown at G20: A meeting of G20 energy ministers failed to reach consensus on Saturday at the Energy Transitions Ministerial Meeting on a fossil fuels phasedown as several major fossil fuel producing nations led by Saudi Arabia blocked the move, the Financial Times reported. Talks held in the coastal province of Goa in India were intended to set the tone on energy transition ahead of the G20 meeting next September and the COP28 in December, but the resulting deadlock could be the latest sign of trouble on the use of fossil fuels ahead of a decisive COP28 later this year in the UAE.

What we know: The impasse led to officials only issuing an outcome statement and a chair summary instead of a joint communique which is usually issued when a complete consensus is reached between member countries on all issues. In a summary document released on Saturday, G20 countries said that some member states had stressed on the necessity to scale down the use of fossil fuels without the capture of emissions “in line with different national circumstances,” according to the FT. Yet, others “had different views on the matter,” opting to focus on the development of technology to capture greenhouse gas emissions instead. Two sources told Reuters that officials failed during the four-day meetings to reach agreement over curbing “unabated” use of fossil fuels and disagreed over the language to be used to describe the path to slash emissions.

Saudi Arabia and Russia are culprits: Several people familiar with the talks told the salmon-colored paper that Saudi Arabia led the cluster of countries pushing against the fossil fuel phasedown. Along with Russia, Saudi Arabia also turned down a proposal that would see G20 countries tripling their renewable energy capacity by 2030, Reuters reported, citing three sources who attended the G20 meeting. They said that China, the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter, and coal exporters South Africa and Indonesia also opposed the plan. They added that India, which currently assumes the G20 presidency, took a neutral stance on the topic.

REMEMBER- G20 member nations account for over three-quarters of global emissions and gross domestic product, according to official data, with a group effort by the bloc for decarbonization decisive in the world’s fight against climate change.

What does this mean for COP28? The failure to reach consensus on a key fossil fuel phasedown sparks worries of a lack of consensus once again on a phaseout of fossil fuels at this year’s summit after top oil producers like Saudi Arabia blocked the effort at COP27 last year. The pushback comes days after COP28 President Designate Sultan Al Jaber said that a phasedown of fossil fuels was “inevitable” and “essential” during a climate-focused meeting in Brussels where he unveiled the action plan for the Dubai-hosted climate summit.

We already knew some were not fully on board: COP28 Director-General Majid Al Suwaidi revealed earlier this month that there were a large number of countries that are not yet on board. “There’s a lot of debate over whether a timeline is useful, or even realistic,” Al Suwaidi said.