Vienna Chapter
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me start by thanking our fellow G-77 & China members for
honouring our invitation to this luncheon and for their request to OPEC to
participate in the presentations and discussions that have taken place
over the past day and a half. Such dialogue and cooperation are always
welcomed by OPEC.
I would also like to take this opportunity to extend our heartfelt
congratulations to our fellow group members for their very significant
achievements over the years. Going forward we appreciate that many
challenges and opportunities lie before us and you can rest assured that
OPEC will not shy away from its responsibilities.
Let me turn to the theme of the past day and a half - 'Energy for
Sustainable Development' - and underline that the interests of G-77 &
China and those of OPEC Members are very much aligned in this regard.
Let me take you back to the First OPEC Summit in Algiers in 1975.
Here the Sovereigns and Heads of State of our Member Countries in a Solemn
Declaration reaffirmed the natural solidarity that unites our Member
Countries with other developing countries in their struggle to overcome
under-development.
Bringing the timeframe forward to 2006, in February, the Paris
Consensus adopted at the 39th Meeting of the Chairpersons of the G-77 &
China emphasised the need for continuing unity and solidarity among
countries of the South to preserve governance that nurtures the policy
space necessary for developing countries to achieve their own development
objectives.
At OPEC we believe this common goal will strengthen our cooperation
especially as we continually look to ease the plight of developing
nations, in particular by helping them pursue the goals of sustainable
development. We do this in many ways: through the OPEC Fund for
International Development, our individual Member Countries' aid agencies
and in the provision of energy to the world.
We also support the goals of the G-77 & China in regards to its
work with the World Trade Organization in developing a rule-based
multilateral trading system that is equitable, fair and takes into account
developing countries' policy space. Trade should serve development and not
be an aim in itself so as to ensure that all developing countries benefit
from expansion in world trade.
As you may know, the Doha Round of WTO negotiations are at a very
crucial juncture, with Ministerial negotiations set for the end of June.
At the heart of the deliberations are development considerations, as
clearly stated in the Doha Declaration and the July 2004 Agreement. This
includes agreement on stronger and more effective policies that provide
differential treatment for developing countries, as well as providing more
effective 'aid for trade', enhancing technical co-operation, establishing
links between trade, debt and finance and facilitating the transfer of
technology.
Failing to deliver on the development promises in all areas,
particularly in agriculture, may result in the collapse of the trade
talks. A failure of the Doha Development Round would undermine the
multilateral trading system and lead to an even faster proliferation of
bilateralism and regionalism
We also recognise and appreciate the positive work of the G-77 &
China in various other multilateral fora, for example, the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as development efforts,
such as the South Fund for Development and Humanitarian Assistance.
The reason these efforts, from both OPEC and the G-77 & China,
are so important is that today we live in a world where energy and the
three pillars of sustainable development, namely economic growth, social
development and environmental protection, must go hand in hand. All are
intrinsically linked.
This statement was never more evident than at the World Summit on
Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, which stressed that
access to energy is a key component of poverty eradication. For the 1.6
billion people in developing countries lacking access to modern energy
services, energy is not just about the pumps being full, the public
transport infrastructure ticking over, or the car starting up every
morning. It is about having the basic energy services to support health
care, enhance living standards and provide the rudimentary conditions for
economic development. In short, energy is a means to help eradicate
poverty.
What this underlines is that sustainable development means different
things to different people. Some nations have developed very little, and
others have developed along very different lines. It means that many
social and economic disparities exist. The three pillars of sustainable
development must therefore be cultivated in a framework that takes into
account the very unequal world in which we live. Let me offer you a few
thoughts on some of OPEC's views on the way forward for sustainable
development.
Firstly, with regard to fossil fuels, these have played an enormous
role in making economic development possible in contemporary
industrialised countries and they continue to provide the overwhelming
share of energy for the industrialised world today. Furthermore, according
to all forecasts, fossil fuels will continue to supply the lion's share of
energy for many decades to come. Therefore, they have a major role to play
in sustainable development and providing energy services to the poor. In
fact, it must be remembered that just as oil played a key role in fuelling
the development of industrialised countries in the 20th century, so it
should be given the opportunity to fuel the growth of today's developing
nations.
Secondly, it is industrialised countries that are, and will continue
to be, the major global energy consumers. As a result, this needs to be
taken into account when considering the issues related to climate change.
This, however, does not alter the fact that OPEC Member Countries remain
committed to working with all parties to achieve sound and balanced
environmental initiatives.
And thirdly, though renewables do and will continue to make a further
contribution to the energy mix it is too early to expect these still
nascent technologies to provide effective solutions for the developing
world.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
We must make sure that our voice is heard at next year's 15th session
of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. It is
important that we prevent our countries becoming technology laboratories
for the benefit of industrialised nations. What we require are cleaner,
affordable and proven technological solutions that meet our energy needs.
The introduction of new technologies should take into account our
countries' specific requirements and particular circumstances. If not,
they could become yet another obstacle to development.
Nevertheless, OPEC does recognise that meeting environmental
challenges can provide a great opportunity for all developing countries to
leapfrog some of the technology steps that industrialised countries have
taken during their industrialisation process. However, they cannot do this
without considerable cooperation and assistance from industrialised
countries.
The focus is on 'common, but differentiated responsibilities and
respective capabilities'. Developing countries are collaborating under
this principle with the international community to actively seek
opportunities to make better and more efficient use of the available
energy resources and to develop appropriate technology that contributes to
meeting their own developmental needs and interests, whilst at the same
time freeing them from any technological dependence that is unsustainable.
Here, however, I must draw your attention to ongoing post-2012 Kyoto
Protocol negotiations. We observe that industrialised countries are very
actively engaged in stamping out the very essence of what was negotiated
at Kyoto; namely the concept that developing countries do not have legally
binding commitments to meet with regard to reducing emissions and
industrialised countries would 'take the lead'. The perceived push is to
have all countries, without exception, take on some form of legally
binding target.
Yet it must be recognised that it is highly unlikely that
industrialised countries will meet their relatively modest targets to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions before the end of the current commitment
period. Not to mention honouring their legally binding commitments toward
helping developing countries cope with climate change. This should be
discussed before any further talk of revising the whole issue of targets
and commitments.
There is even talk of moving discussions on commitments to a
bilateral arena. Clearly this is not to our advantage and we must stand
firm in resisting such approaches.
Finally, I feel it is also appropriate to briefly express OPEC's view
on the current oil market situation. Given that oil is a very valuable
energy source traded globally, it can of course impact upon the prospects
for the economic and social progress of developing nations.
In recent months the first question I have been asked is: why are oil
prices at their current level? Firstly, I would like to stress that crude
volumes entering the market are currently in excess of actual demand, as
levels of stocks in OECD countries demonstrate. There is no shortage of
supply.
So what are the key drivers impacting the oil price? Downstream
tightness due to a lack of refining investment from consuming countries
over many years, as well as increased speculative activity in the futures
market concerning disruptions that may never come to pass, are certainly
having a pronounced effect on prices.
What needs to be understood, however, is that OPEC remains unswerving
in its commitment to stabilise the market at prices fair to both consumers
and producers.
It is clear that energy has, does and will continue to play an
important role in sustainable development, especially in alleviating the
alarming disparities that exist between the countries of the North and
those of the South. The way forward is through dialogue and cooperation,
between all nations of both the developed and developing world. Only then
can there be a consensus that takes on board the key sustainable
development priorities, with poverty eradication at the core.
We sincerely hope that the past day and a half has reaffirmed the
solidarity that OPEC shares with the G-77 & China in this regard, and
we welcome any further joint activities that foster stronger integration
towards this common goal.
Thank you.
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