Hundreds of fossil fuel lobbyists at the COP28 climate meeting in Dubai

The battle over fossil fuels has already heated up at the COP28 climate meeting in Dubai, a city of skyscrapers and abundant luxury, all mainly funded by fossil fuels.

Ironically, the world may agree to phase out fossil fuels – a step that would undoubtedly be historic, even if it is expected to occur with several fireworks and perhaps without any clear timetable.

Now a preliminary list of UN participants shows that at least 400 fossil lobbyists are at the climate meeting. The site is hot I combed through the list and found dozens of employees at drilling companies such as Shell, ExxonMobil, Total and BP, including the CEOs of all four companies.

Fossil fuel companies clearly oppose the climate meeting’s focus on phasing out fossil fuels. In mid-November, ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods attacked those who argue in favor of cutting fossil fuel production.

– That would be a recipe for human suffering and a poorer world, He said At a meeting in San Francisco.

But the fossil company’s managers got it UN Secretary-General António Guterres spoke out against the climate summit on Friday, when he delivered his opening speech to a summit of world leaders.

– Let me send a message to all leaders of fossil fuel companies. Your old way gets old fast. Don’t overinvest in an old business model. “Show the way in renewables,” he said.

The world’s oil and gas companies currently account for only 100% of investments in renewable energy, according to estimates International Energy Agency IEA.

At the climate meeting, other actors are leading the way in the field of renewable energy sources. One of the announcements that received the most positive reception was the new declaration on actually tripling renewable energy by 2030. About 120 countries – including Sweden – have signed the declaration.

Meanwhile, fossil fuel companies came With his own revolutions, which were met with praise and acclaim. Most Cedar has received a promise from about 50 oil and gas companies to reduce emissions within their own operations, among other things by promising net zero emissions by 2050. In addition, fossil fuel companies must reduce their methane emissions to near zero already by The year is 2030. Methane is a very potent greenhouse gas, often seeping through pipelines or emitted into gas wells.

But upon closer examination, the “new” promise turns out to be more or less a repeat of an agreement from 2021. Importantly, it does not include emissions from burning oil and gas, which account for 80-95 percent of GDP. Overall impact of fuels on climate.

“We have to cut production by 5-6 percent a year if we want to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, but production is increasing instead — including in my home country of the United States and the country we are in now,” says Alden Meyer, a senior advisor at the climate research center E3G. , in an informal press conference in Dubai.

But one play was celebrated As is very important; That the United States Now standing behind The goal is to phase out all coal power within the country by 2030. Several other major coal nations, such as China, have not yet signed the same declaration – but the US move is expected to increase pressure for more to follow suit.

– It is very important symbolically for the world’s largest economy to move away from the dirtiest fossil fuels. It sends a signal to the outside world, says Leo Roberts, fossil fuel analyst at E3G.

Meanwhile, the battle over whether countries should agree to phase out fossil fuels continues under negotiations. in First early draft There is language in the agreement about phasing out or phasing out fossil fuels as well. But informed sources told DN that Saudi Arabia is already trying to prevent such wording.

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