Venezuela tells COP31 it has a sovereign right to pump more oil

Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodriguez told the ‌COP31 climate conference on Thursday that the country has the sovereign right to develop its oil industry, even as it recognises the importance of combatting climate change.

Her comments at the U.N. talks on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast jar with efforts by other conference leaders to convince global governments to accelerate a shift from carbon-emitting fossil fuels.

But they dovetail with the United States' efforts to raise billions of dollars ⁠towards increasing oil output in Venezuela, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

"We reaffirm our sovereign right to strengthen our energy and oil industry as a driver of our national development," Rodriguez told the summit. "It is possible to grow and protect the environment at the same time."

Venezuela's forests acted as a "lung for the planet", absorbing more carbon than the country emits, she added. She did not address the impact that oil exported from the country had on global emissions.

Reuters