The restrictions on oil consumption would cause a drop in demand of 6.5 million barrels per day, and could cost the OPEC nations a combined 23 billion dollars in export losses, according to the organisation's General Secretariat. Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo said the losses could reach 60 billion dollars by 2030 and urged OPEC to stand firm and united in the discussions of the Protocol, which are to be renewed in November at The Hague. Obasanjo stressed that climate change affects everyone, and that there should be no doubt that the OPEC members are as concerned as the rest of the world. Other presidents at the summit also emphasised that despite their concern about the economic effects of the Kyoto Protocol, OPEC wants to co-operate in preserving the world's environment. In informal statements, OPEC members have suggested reducing the restrictions on petroleum while increasing limitations on coal, which they consider a more pernicious polluter.
Coal mining continues to be subsidised in numerous countries.
The leaders have also stressed the importance of creating conditions so that oil-dependent economies can diversify their sources of revenue. Concerning development, OPEC said in its declaration signed Thursday that the eradication of poverty must be a global priority, and calls on the nations of the industrialised North to take part in related efforts. The oil cartel announced that it would continue its efforts to fight the social effects of poverty by maintaining the OPEC Fund for International Development, which has provided 5.6 billion dollars in resources since its creation in 1976. OPEC is an institution that fights for justice,'' he stated. The Caracas Declaration's formal call for dialogue with oil consuming nations of the industrialised North is in part an attempt to place responsibility for the currently high crude prices.