{"id":48503,"date":"2023-05-12T10:14:57","date_gmt":"2023-05-12T09:14:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/?p=48503"},"modified":"2023-05-15T09:18:08","modified_gmt":"2023-05-15T08:18:08","slug":"cop28-moots-oil-and-gas-initiative-despite-greenwash-accusations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/2023\/05\/12\/cop28-moots-oil-and-gas-initiative-despite-greenwash-accusations\/","title":{"rendered":"Cop28 moots oil and gas initiative despite greenwash accusations"},"content":{"rendered":"

The United Arab Emirates Cop28 presidency is working on an alliance to reduce emissions from the oil and gas sector.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The UAE has been discussing an initiative, provisionally named the Global Decarbonization Alliance, alongside a group of company executives.<\/p>\n

The alliance is expected to set a goal to reach net zero emissions from extracting oil and gas by 2050, according to a leaked letter from Cop28’s energy transition lead reported by the Financial Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But Romain Ioualalen, a campaigner at Oil Change International, told Climate Home the initiative was just a “recycling” of similar programmes which he says have not amounted to much action.<\/p>\n

Most emissions ignored<\/h3>\n

Campaigners have also criticised the focus on just the emissions from producing oil and gas rather than the much larger emissions from the use of fossil fuels.<\/p>\n

Roughly 80-95% of the oil and gas sector’s emissions<\/a> are from the use of their products but the initiative would only target those from extracting them.<\/p>\n

After court<\/strong> blocks<\/strong> renewables push, US promotes carbon capture & hydrogen<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Producing fossil fuels damages the atmosphere as gas leaks into the atmosphere or is burned as a waste product. Many of the vehicles and machinery used in the industry are polluting too.<\/p>\n

Similar existing alliances have the same focus. These include the US-led net zero producers forum (NZPF), the energy importers and exporters on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and the industry-run oil and gas climate initiative.<\/p>\n

Nations split<\/strong> over fossil fuels and carbon capture<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ioualalen said the proposed alliance is another example of a “tried and true tactic” of the fossil fuel industry to carry on business as usual.<\/p>\n

“They are talking about everything but the one thing that really matters in driving down emissions, which is reducing oil and gas production,” he said. “As long as these are not the terms of discussion, it can’t be described as a legitimate effort”.<\/p>\n

The International Energy Agency has found<\/a> that fossil fuel production should drop by a factor of nearly four between 2020 and 2050 if the world is to limit global warming to 1.5C.<\/p>\n

Denmark and Costa Rica have led an effort to get governments to end oil and gas production but only a handful of fossil fuel-producing nations have signed up<\/a>.<\/p>\n

No announcement<\/h3>\n

The Financial Times reported the alliance would be discussed in a workshop taking place this week in the UAE.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday the Cop28 president-designate Sultan Al Jaber hosted<\/a> a meeting with executives from fossil fuels, financial and tech companies in the UAE.<\/p>\n

Al Jaber called on the oil and gas industry to work collectively to reach net zero by 2050 and net zero methane emissions by 2030.<\/p>\n

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On the sidelines of #UAEClimateTech<\/a>, #DrSultanAlJaber<\/a> chaired a decarbonization roundtable.<\/p>\n

The President-Designate highlighted the importance of collaboration on the decarbonization pathways and discussed tangible solutions to address the urgent need for emissions reduction. pic.twitter.com\/lk4wG7jhIW<\/a><\/p>\n

— COP28 UAE (@COP28_UAE) May 11, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n