The COP28 in Dubai concluded with 198 countries agreeing to transition away from fossil fuels, marking a first for the annual climate summit.
While the nearly two-week United Nations-sponsored conference witnessed several firsts, not all were for the best.
In his first official speech as COP President, Sultan Al-Jaber said on Nov 30: “Let history reflect the fact that this is the presidency that made a bold choice to engage with oil and gas companies proactively.”
Among climate scientists, delegates and negotiators, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) set up a booth at COP for the first time.
At least 2,456 fossil fuel lobbyists were granted access to COP28, according to the Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) coalition of more than 450 global organisations.
See also: At COP28, the world calls time on fossil fuel
The fossil fuel industry representatives were the third-largest body at the climate summit, only outnumbered by Brazil (3,081) and the host country, the United Arab Emirates (4,409).
Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of oil and gas supermajor TotalEnergies, was part of the French delegation. Darren Woods, CEO of Exxon Mobil, attended with the UAE’s accreditation.
Woods is the first Exxon chief executive ever to attend a COP. In an interview with the Financial Times on Dec 2, Woods said the discussions had “put way too much emphasis on getting rid of fossil fuels, oil and gas, and not… on dealing with the emissions associated with them”.
See also: Oil is everywhere at COP28, vexing those seeking its demise
“The transition is not limited to just wind, solar and EVs,” said Woods. “Carbon capture is going to play a role. We’re good at that. We know how to do it; we can contribute. Hydrogen will play a role. Biofuels will play a role.”
Other oil bosses, including Shell’s Wael Sawan, turned up to sign a pact among 50 oil companies to reduce emissions from their operations.
The 50, which includes supermajors BP and Occidental Petroleum Corp, account for 40% of global oil production. They agree to reduce their Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 and curb methane emissions to “near-zero” by 2030.
Still, fellow giants Chevron and ConocoPhillips were missing from the Dec 2 pact.
Later that week, six oil majors — BP, Eni, Equinor, Occidental Petroleum, Shell and TotalEnergies — each contributed US$25 million ($33.2 million) to a grant fund meant to help state-owned rivals cut their methane emissions, a gas with 28 times greater global warming potential than carbon dioxide. Chevron and Exxon Mobil, however, did not join in.
Countries, too, contributed to the Global Flaring and Methane Reduction Partnership. The UAE provided US$100 million; the US gave US$2 million; Germany gave US$1.5 million; and Norway gave US$1 million.
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Unveiled on Dec 5, the World Bank will run the fund, with some US$255 million earmarked to help developing countries and their oil companies plug methane leaks.
COP28 President Al-Jaber, who is also the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, which holds 105 billion barrels of oil in reserve, had hailed the oil and gas industry’s involvement in the summit.
Big Oil’s presence at COP28 angered environmentalists worldwide.
“You don’t invite the tobacco lobbyists to a health convention when you’re writing health policy,” said Emily Lowan of Climate Action Network Canada to Bloomberg. “They have clearly stated interests against the very premise of these negotiations, at this COP in particular, related to agreeing on the language on the phase-out of fossil fuels.”
CCUS ‘illusion’
Oil prices fell on the morning of Dec 13 after talks concluded. The US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark dropped 0.9% to US$68 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, also fell 0.9% to US$72.62 a barrel. Both contracts are trading around six-month lows.
The agreed text avoids the term “phase-out”, opting for a “transitioning away” from fossil fuels “to achieve net zero by 2050”.
The text also “calls on” countries to develop “zero- and low-emission technologies”, including carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS).
As Exxon Mobil’s chief executive mentioned, oil companies have been hawking CCUS as a licence to keep pumps going.
By removing already-produced emissions, they hope to offset the impact of their operations.
The nascent CCUS sector has described plans to pump carbon dioxide into deep, porous rocks and even suck carbon dioxide out of the open air.
For now, however, they remain expensive and are nearly impossible to scale.
Some 40 large-scale carbon capture projects are operational today, capturing roughly 45 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). That might not dent global warming, as it represents just 0.1% of the world’s emissions.
The fossil fuel industry must commit to “genuinely” helping the world meet its energy needs and climate goals, said IEA executive director Fatih Birol before the summit, “which means letting go of the illusion that implausibly large amounts of carbon capture are the solution”.
Revisit The Edge Singapore’s coverage of COP28 here.
Photos: Bloomberg
