COP28: A Global Farce For A Big Oil Feast

How Climate Action Became a Pantomime Led by UEA’s Sultan Al-Jaber

After the world watched Israel explicitly committing war crimes, cutting off essential resources to the two million people trapped in the world’s biggest open-air prison, a.k.a. Gaza, climate leaders are supposed to gather in Dubai to try and take the next halting steps towards dealing with this crisis. COP28 UAE — United Nations Climate Change Conference. COP28 UAE — United Nations Climate Change Conference begins on Thursday, November 30, and will be run by Sultan Al Jaber. Yes, COP’s president is from the fossil menace UEA and, why not, also chief executive of the national oil company Adnoc (who’s being fooled by his last-minute resignation?)

If you already thought that the conference was damaged by deep conflicts of interest threatening a successful outcome, newly leaked documents made an utter joke of his claim to be supporting “decarbonization.”

How can the other COP members and the world let this man, who was secretly using the climate summit role to push oil trade with foreign government officials, run the show?

Welcome to yet another episode of “The Incomensurable Greed of the Fossil Fuel Industry.”

Big Oil Really Has No Limits

We’re still a day away from the official start of COP 28 in Dubai, but in some ways, it seems over, or even worse, irrelevant before it began. Because Big Oil countries have no limits when it comes to leveraging their official positions for new deals. There’s really no limit to their pockets and to their greed, to their money-grubbing, planet-destroying instability. And this has grown to such an extent that the leader of the movement that is supposed to advocate protectionist measures for our environment, which will come to mitigate (a word that makes me shudder) the effects of an unsustainable climate change even accepted by the oil industry, is one of them.

I mean, it was so glaringly obvious: the summit is in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the seventh largest producer of oil in the world with an average of 3.2 million barrels of petroleum and liquids per day, ahead of Iran and Kuwait, through their state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). ADNOC, as fossil fuel credo demands, is not planning to pull out of the industry but to further invest 150 billion dollars between 2023–2027 to expand its oil and gas production capacity, announcing a new off-shore gas project known as the Hail and Ghasha fields.

The project, located within a marine biosphere reserve, is spearheaded by ADNOC CEO Sultan Al Jaber. Yeah, that’s COP28’s president. But don’t worry, Jaber has said the UAE’s oil is cheaper and less carbon-intensive than other producers and that ADNOC seeks to increase the capacity for extracting oil, rather than its production, to meet future demand.

If this wasn’t clear enough, recent revelations of the host nation using its position to push oil trade with foreign governments are a categoric reminder that some countries operate as oil companies with no regard for morality. ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Shell are undoubtedly proud.

Climateleaks

The verified documents leaked by the whistleblower, who came forward on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, were obtained by the Centre for Climate Reporting in the UK and published by the BBC. These include more than 150 pages of briefings prepared by the COP28 team for meetings held by Al Jaber between July and October of this year. And offer an extraordinary insight into the private discussions between the COP president and prominent government figures from at least 28 countries attending the UN summit in Dubai, despite denied talks by most of them. This lack of transparency only fuels suspicions about the true motivations behind the scenes.

In a briefing prepared for a meeting between Al Jaber and Zhao Yingmin, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, it was stated that Adnoc has a “strategic partnership” with China, with sales and trading worth $15 billion in the past year. Al Jaber’s briefing for a meeting with Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sameh Shoukty, mentioned that Adnoc is ready to support Egypt in supplying petrochemicals. Similar phrases about sustainable development and commitment to climate change were included in the discussion points for meetings with officials from Saudi Arabia, Senegal, and Venezuela. And there are discussions about jointly evaluating international liquefied natural gas (LNG) opportunities in Mozambique, Canada, and Australia.

Other planned topics during the Pre-COP event included:

• Adnoc’s diesel and jet fuel supply to Kenya.
• The UAE’s desire to be removed from Brazil’s “tax haven list.”
• The potential monetization of Venezuelan resources.
• Support for Colombia in developing its fossil fuel resources.
• How Adnoc and Masdar can accelerate their partnership to help Azerbaijan become a secure energy hub for Europe.

Previous meetings followed a similar pattern. In a meeting with Brazil’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva, Al Jaber appeared to plan to lobby for Adnoc’s bid for the Brazilian petrochemicals company Braskem. Earlier in November, Adnoc presented a new offer to become the majority stakeholder in the company…

Oh, and the leaks further confirm that Mohammed Al Kaabi, the director of government affairs for COP28, is closely involved with Sultan Al Jaber’s “entire portfolio.”

The Talking Points

Foreign officials have highlighted the access Al Jaber has gained to world leaders through his COP28 presidency. Meetings with influential figures like Bill Gates, Prince William, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair have raised questions about the extent of his influence. The United States, UK, and French governments said commercial activities were not discussed at the UN General Assembly. The Dutch government said no meeting took place. Leaked documents speak otherwise.

One would think that as a COP president, Jaber wouldn’t represent any national or commercial interest but lead the world to reduce global emissions. And yet, in the very same meetings where he’s apparently trying to pursue that goal, he’s actually trying to do side deals that will increase global emissions.

Is this how the supposed climate leader wants to tackle the climate crisis? Are we so damn stupid to eat this BS argument?

Furthermore, an investigation by AFP revealed that a consulting firm advising the COP28 team, McKinsey, proposed a scenario that would only reduce oil use by about half over the next 25 years. “On average, 40–50 MMb/d [millions of barrels per day] of oil is still expected to be utilized by 2050,” compared to about 100 MMb/d today, the AFP stated. Good job, McKinsey: your half-measures that allow fossil fuel companies to continue pumping oil and zeros to their already unpronounceable bank account numbers. “Net zero” emissions, well, they know nothing about that kind of zeros. How many are YOU adding to the corporate account, McKinsey?

Talk about hypocrisy.

And that wasn’t all, folks.

Saudi Arabia’s Secretive Program to Keep the World Burning Oil

Saudi Arabia publicly claims to support the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature increases to 1.5Cº or 2Cº. Even the Crown Prince himself remarked that as a leading international oil producer, “the Kingdom fully recognizes its share of responsibility in advancing the fight against the climate crisis. Just as the Kingdom underpinned energy markets during the oil and gas era, it is going to become a global leader in forging a greener world.”

But another undercover investigation by the Centre for Climate Reporting (CCR) — at this point, climate heroes — reveals how, in private, the Kingdom seeks to hook emerging economies across Africa and Asia on fossil fuels, not less.

And here, I directly quote because otherwise, it sounds like doomsday science fiction:

The investigation, based on secret recordings, documents provided by Saudi officials to undercover reporters, and an analysis of regulatory filings, reveals:

- A sophisticated strategy to deploy fleets of petrol and diesel-fuelled vehicles across Asia and Africa so that Saudi Arabia can “capture the increasing gasoline/diesel demand.”

- Plans to collaborate with an undisclosed global auto manufacturer to develop and produce a cheap car that can be sold in emerging markets to give “an oil uplift for the kingdom.”

- Plans to fast-track commercial supersonic air travel, explicitly because it consumes three times more jet fuel than normal aircraft.

- A plan to lobby against government subsidies for electric vehicles in countries around the world.

- Plans to encourage the use of toxic heavy fuel oil to generate power in Africa and South Asia.

As Mohammed Adow, campaigner and head of PowerShift Africa, told the Guardian, “The Saudi government is like a drug dealer trying to get Africa hooked on its harmful product…The rest of the world is weaning itself off dirty and polluting fossil fuels, and Saudi Arabia is getting desperate for more customers and is turning its sights on Africa. It’s repulsive.”

Will they, at least, stop pretending and taking us for complete fools?

How to Avoid Being a Climate Fool: Be Loud

It’s commonly said that “the Stone Age didn’t end for want of stones.” In a similar vein, the age of fossil fuels isn’t coming to an end because we’ve run out of fossil fuels (yet). It’s ending because we’ve recognized the severe threat these fuels pose to our immediate present and a sustainable future.

This hasn’t stopped Big Oil industry from making calculated moves as it faces the inevitable decline brought on by the fight against climate change. THEY ARE LEADING (!) THE COP28 UAE — United Nations Climate Change Conference. Fearing the climate change movement will usher in a “lucrative decline” of the fossil fuel industry, they have become desperate, trying to keep energy users dependent on a volatile, expensive, and polluting energy source.

But even without widespread carbon pricing or substantial subsidies, renewable energy and EVs are rising because people are increasingly embracing clean energy sources that are becoming more competitive with dirty fossil fuels. The clean energy revolution is gaining momentum, and there’s a sense of inevitability about it.

Thanks to wind, solar, and other renewables, there was a noticeable drop in carbon emissions from the power sector and an overall stabilization in 2022. The debate over the reality and threat of climate change is mostly over. Even within the fossil fuel industry, there’s been a turning point. They can no longer deny that their products drive global warming and climate change. In fact, oil companies like Chevron have admitted in court that “fossil fuels are the problem.” The global trend is promising, and the change, undeniable.

But though they are on the run, the forces of climate-change denial and inaction haven’t given up. They’re still clinging to their old ways and resisting change. They are masters of disinformation, deceit, division, deflection, delay, despair, and doom-mongering. According to an analysis, only one of the more than 20 sponsors of Cop28 has signed up to UN-backed net zero science-based targets (SBTi). They want the public to think of them as part of a climate solution. In reality, they’re a problem trying to avoid being solved.

That’s why we need citizens, the 70,000 attending COP28, and everyone from all corners of the world actively pushing for change. Avoid falling into the trap of doom and defeatism. Instead, fight back with knowledge, passion, and an unwavering demand for change. Don’t waste time with climate-change-denying trolls: focus on those who can still be reached, educated, and influenced. Many people have been led astray by misinformation and have fallen into climate despair. When you encounter false claims, counter them with facts and evidence. Silence leads to inaction, but knowledge is the antidote.

So, remember: there’s both urgency and agency and a role for everyone. Individual actions do play a part in the solution, but they can only get us so far. We need the proper and fitting politicians (though that might sound utopian) in the right seats. The countless, undisputable studies on climate change should urge world leaders to take immediate action and prevent us from carelessly plunging into a self-made apocalypse.

It’s not too late to act. Every ounce of carbon we don’t burn makes things better.

Be loud.