Saudi Arabia's energy minister has slammed the door shut to agreeing to phase down fossil fuels at the UN's COP28 climate talks, setting the stage for difficult negotiations in Dubai.
A tentative "phasedown/out" was included in a first draft of an agreement on climate action that delegates are haggling over during talks that are scheduled to finish on December 12.
But Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, a half-brother of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, told Bloomberg that Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, would not agree.