COP30 in Brazil: Calls for new producers to leave oil in ground protect the wealthy incumbents – Pres Ali to world leaders

President Dr Irfaan Ali has once again bemoaned calls for new producers to halt oil and gas production, saying that it is not only unfair to developing nations but also a form of protection for wealthy countries.
The Guyanese leader made these remarks on Friday during a roundtable discussion focused on energy transition at the World Leader’s Summit held in Belém, Brazil, on Friday ahead of the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP30), slated for November 10 to 21.
Friday’s session was chaired by the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
During his presentation, President Ali put a series of questions to the world leaders gathered there which he said are important to achieve a truly global coalition to combat climate change.

He pointed to the fact that over the last three years, global energy demand grew by seven per cent, with fossil fuel accounting for 60 per cent of that growth.
According to the Guyanese leader, while there is consensus that the world must transition from fossil fuels, the real question is how to manage this transition in a way that is “just, rules-based, and equitable.”
Noting that enough has not been done to bring all the stakeholders in fossil fuels around the table to be part of the solution, he contended that COP provides the platform to move beyond simplistic slogans that imply the transition is easy or that there is only one path forward.
“It allows us to focus on how to make it work, grounded in science, economic reality, and fairness. To succeed, the world’s energy system must evolve on two coordinated tracks,” Ali highlighted.
This, he added, includes fairly managing the transition from the energy of today, that is, fossil fuels, which still provide more than 80 per cent of global energy. In fact, the International Energy Agency says that oil demand in a net zero scenario will reduce from about 100 million barrels per day today to 72 million by 2030 and 24 million by 2050.
Even at those low levels in a net-zero world, President Ali argued that the oil sector will still be generating trillions of dollars in wealth, thus creating opportunities for developing nations.
“So, simple calls for new producers to leave it in the ground are in reality a form of protectionism. It is a form of protectionism, protecting those who are already wealthy as incumbents,” he posited.
Ali and the Guyana Government have long been touting Guyana as a model for sustainable development since the country, which started pumping oil in 2019, has been producing record quantities of its light-sweet crude while maintaining a net-zero carbon sink due to its vast forest cover.
As such, the Guyanese Head of State told world leaders on Friday that a new energy transition must phase out the highest-carbon, least-efficient, and most expensive oil first, while allowing low-carbon, responsibly-managed production to meet declining demand.
“We have to phase out the highest carbon footprint first. What is the strategy of phasing out the 34.5 per cent of global energy that still comes from coal? We must have a viable plan. We must have the least efficient phased out first. And that is the way we will get to the targets that all of us want so badly to achieve,” he declared.
However, Ali outlined that this approach requires global rules along with a carbon price that reflects real costs, the removal of fossil fuel subsidies, and competition based on carbon intensity, not legacy advantage.
The other issue that the Guyanese President highlighted that must be addressed is meeting the increasing energy demand that is required to power the new world that is being driven by technology such as artificial intelligence (AI).
“We must invest in the energy of the future. Global energy demand is rising, driven by population growth, urbanisation, and new technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital systems that consume vast amounts of electricity. At the same time, hundreds of millions still live in energy poverty, and many regions face growing energy insecurity,” he stated.
Ali stated that if the world wants clean power to meet these growing needs, then it must unlock new and innovative forms of finance, especially given the fact that much of the developing world is grappling with high debt, high risk and high cost of capital, which make renewables more expensive than fossil fuels.
Without practical financial mechanisms
“Without practical financial mechanisms, many countries will simply have no choice but to depend on fossil fuels if they are to develop. We need transition finance facilities, guarantees, and concessional instruments that bring down the cost of capital and attract private investment at scale. And we must treat technology access, from grids and storage to carbon capture, not as charity, but as a global priority,” he asserted.
According to the Guyanese Leader, “If we can balance these two tracks – investing in increasing the energy of the future while managing fairly the decline of the energy sources of today – then the transition will be science-based, predictable, and fair.”
The Head of State went on to acknowledge that none of this is easy but posited that it can be done by grasping these difficult challenges together.
“We have to get there together. We have to bring all the stakeholders around this table. We cannot get there by extreme position. We have to get there through a balanced approach. Let us bring all the stakeholders around the table. Let us allow a situation where we all win through a just programme, a fair programme, and a rule-based system,” President Ali asserted.