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ENVIRONMENT

French minister ‘angry’ with big oil producers at COP28

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is pushing against proposals to target fossil fuels at the COP28 climate summit, drawing fury from France.

Published: 9 December 2023 11:00 CET
The French Energy Minister has hit back against oil producers seeking to protect the fossil fuel industry at COP28.
The French Energy Minister has hit back against oil producers seeking to protect the fossil fuel industry at COP28. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)

French Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said Saturday she was “stunned” after the oil cartel OPEC urged its members to thwart any deal targeting fossil fuels at the COP28 conference.

“I am stunned by these statements from OPEC. And I am angry,” she said from the climate conference in Dubai, adding that “OPEC’s position endangers the most vulnerable countries and the poorest populations who are the first victims of this situation”.

The minister said she was “counting on the presidency of the COP not to be influenced by these declarations, and to reach an agreement which affirms a clear objective of phasing out fossil fuels”.

OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais sent a letter to the group’s 13 members and 10 Russian-led allies this week after negotiators at talks in Dubai released a draft deal that included calls for a phase-out of fossil fuels.

In the letter sent Wednesday, Ghais urges the group to “proactively reject any text or formula that targets energy i.e. fossil fuels rather than emissions”.

The letter has drawn anger from activists and the High Ambition Coalition, a broad group of nations ranging from Barbados to France, Kenya and Pacific island states.

Spain’s ecology transition minister Teresa Ribera called the move “disgusting”.

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ENVIRONMENT

Why Bordeaux wine is under threat in France this year

Winemakers in the famous French Bordeaux wine region fear the weather conditions this spring may lead to a disastrous harvest.

Published: 10 May 2024 15:48 CEST
Why Bordeaux wine is under threat in France this year

It’s the second year in a row that mildew has threatened Bordeaux vines. Around 90 percent of vineyards were affected by mildew to some extent in 2023, according to the regional chamber of agriculture.

But this year, the fungus has appeared earlier than usual. “If the weather continues, it’s going to be a disaster,” one vineyard owner told regional newspaper Sud Ouest, as mildew threatens crops. “I’ve never seen mildew strike so early.”

In its latest plant bulletin, the Gironde Chamber of Agriculture underlines the “favourable climatic conditions for [mildew] development” and is pessimistic for the coming days, fearing an increase in potential risk.

In the end, the 2023 harvest was reasonable, helped by favourable August weather – though a heatwave towards the end of the month raised concerns over working conditions.

READ MORE: France to revise its Champagne-making area due to climate change

But last year’s outbreak and the weather so far in 2024 has brought the ‘mildew season’ forward in parts of the region. The Grand Libournais and Graves winegrowing areas are particularly affected, according to May’s Bulletin de Santé du Végétal for Nouvelle Aquitaine.

Winegrowers in the Blayais region, meanwhile, have noticed that mildew spread is erratic – but the expected return of rainy conditions in the early part of next week have prompted concerns that the fungus’s spread will only increase.

“There are abandoned plots, neighbours who haven’t pruned their vines or estates that have been unable to carry out an uprooting program because of the incessant rain,” one vineyard owner said.

Official figures suggest that some 2,000 hectares of vines are uncultivated in the Gironde alone. The Fédération Départementale des Syndicats d’Exploitants Agricoles insists that the real figure is much larger – with implications for the health of neighbouring cultivated vines.

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