by At least 1,300 employees of organizations representing fossil fuel interests registered to attend this year’s United Nations climate talks in Dubai, more than three times the number found in an Associated Press analysis of the year’s talks. last, when new rules went into effect requiring attendees to disclose their employment. .
New disclosure rules aside, the figure may have been boosted by a surge in attendance as the Earth endured a year of record heat and devastating extreme weather blamed on climate change: Conference registrations are nearly double those of last year’s conversations. The United Nations body responsible for organizing the conference also published details of many more attendees than in previous years, including people who are not considered part of official state delegations.
The hundreds of people connected to fossil fuels represent just a small portion of the 90,000 people who registered to attend the climate summit known as COP28. But environmentalists have repeatedly questioned their presence at an event where meaningful negotiations must target the heart of their businesses.
Bob Deans, director of strategic engagement at the U.S.-based Natural Resources Defense Council, said his group hopes this year’s talks will be the point at which oil and gas “could begin to move from “from being the biggest part of the climate problem to finally being part of the solution.”
“The industry needs to move away from a business model that is based on destroying the planet,” said Deans, whose own group signed up nearly two dozen people to attend. “That business model needs to change. Dubai must be the starting point.”
Companies represented by more than 1,300 employees account for a large share of global emissions, which is why they should also have a place at the conference, they said.
COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber came under fire in the months leading up to his role presiding over COP28 because of his other job: running the United Arab Emirates’ national oil company. Al-Jaber alluded to the issue of the proper role of fossil fuel companies in his keynote speech.
“Let history reflect the fact that this is the Presidency that made the bold decision to proactively engage with oil and gas companies,” al-Jaber said. He went on to praise many of those companies for their emissions reduction commitments, but added: “I have to say it’s not enough and I know they can do more.”
On Saturday, al-Jaber announced that 50 oil companies representing nearly half of global production had committed to reaching near-zero methane emissions and ending routine flaring by 2030. Experts and environmentalists called it significant and meaningful. , but still not enough.
COP28 comes as the planet faces a growing imperative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Global warming reached 1.25 degrees Celsius in October compared to pre-industrial levels, according to the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. And the UN warned in a key report in September that “the window of opportunity to ensure a liveable and sustainable future for all is rapidly closing.”
Fossil fuel companies have long participated in the talks, the first of which took place in 1995. Research by the advocacy group Kick Big Polluters Out Coalition shows that four of the “big five” oil and gas companies gas – Shell, Chevron, TotalEnergies and BP – have sent representatives to the annual climate talks almost every year.
Each of the four companies said in statements that they are attending the COP to promote green or low-carbon technologies and work toward their net zero commitments. Low carbon emissions can mean things like biofuels, hydrogen development, and carbon capture and storage. All four have committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
The AP came to its account for COP28 by analyzing the list of potential United Nations attendees to review the details they offered when registering, including the company they represented. Those details were compared to lists of operators and owners of coal mines, oil fields and natural gas plants, as well as manufacturers of high-carbon materials such as steel and cement. It also included trade associations representing those interests.
TotalEnergies has signed up to send a dozen people to COP28, UN data shows. Paul Naveau, the company’s head of media relations, said TotalEnergies would have six climate, carbon markets and biodiversity experts at the talks, and its chief executive, Patrick Pouyanné, will speak at a side event.
“The topics addressed at these events are at the center of the company’s ambition; Our experts attend to listen to the discussions and support collective action,” Naveau said.
Naveau said in response to questions from the AP that no TotalEnergies employees participate, or are even present, in negotiations between countries.
Naveau highlighted the company’s plans for a third of its capital spending through 2028 to go toward “low-carbon” energy. He also said the company is transparent about its assistants in Dubai “to dispel the (false) idea that our company’s presence could be negative.”
The Kick Big Polluters Out analysis, spanning 20 years, showed that Shell has sent the most people to conversations overall and most consistently. The company averaged six people over the past 20 years, although that is likely an undercount since the UN did not require attendees to list their “home organizations” before this year.
Shell’s international policy positions support the phase-out of coal, the expansion of renewable energy and the treatment of natural gas as a “partner” to renewable energy sources. Natural gas emits less carbon than most other fossil fuels, according to the International Energy Agency, but it still contributes to climate change. The IEA describes it as having “a limited role” in the transition from coal to renewable energy.
The Kick Big Polluters Out research also identified the most frequent attendees.
Arthur Lee, a 30-year Chevron employee, has been to every COP since 1999, he said on his LinkedIn page, and is registered to attend COP28. He contributed to the fourth assessment of the IPCC, the UN’s official climate report, as an expert on carbon capture and storage.
David Hone, Shell’s chief climate adviser, is in Dubai for at least his 17th appearance at the annual climate talks. Hone wrote in a blog post before the talks that net-zero emissions goals “will require greater emphasis on developing carbon removal practices and technologies.”
Neither Shell nor Chevon made the two men available for interviews.
Fossil fuel companies rely heavily on carbon capture to meet their net-zero emissions goals, even as some experts have expressed doubts about scaling them up sufficiently. At the moment, it is preventing around 0.1% of the energy sector’s carbon emissions from reaching the atmosphere, according to the IEA.
Rachel Rose Jackson, director of climate research and international policy at Corporate Accountability, a coalition group that produced the Kick Big Polluters Out analysis, said carbon capture and storage are unproven technologies at the scale that would be needed.
“It’s a massive diversion of resources, capacity and money that could go towards solutions that we know work, that are cost-effective, that reduce emissions and keep fossil fuels in the ground,” he said. “These so-called solutions are often dangerous distractions.”
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