COP28: Oil giants including Exxon, Aramco promise emission cuts, but production remains unchanged

Exxon Mobil and Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, leading the pack as the world’s largest private and state-sector oil firms, spearheaded an agreement among 50 oil and gas producers during the COP28 climate summit. According to Bloomberg, the pledge focuses on curbing emissions within their own operations.

However, controversy swirls around the deal as none of these companies are reportedly committing to scaling back their oil and gas production. Nonetheless, they are vowing to significantly reduce methane emissions, a particularly hazardous greenhouse gas, to nearly zero by 2030 and put an end to routine flaring of natural gas.

Sultan Al Jaber, the COP28 President and CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., has heavily invested political capital in rallying the oil and gas industry to engage in the climate battle.

The 50 entities that make up the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter represent approximately 40% of the world's oil production. This includes 29 national oil companies, signifying progress in an industry that has been sluggish in addressing methane emissions due to a lack of pressure from regulators and investors. While the targets won’t carry legal weight, those signing must present a plan to achieve them by 2025.

In addition to Exxon, major international oil companies like Shell Plc, BP Plc, TotalEnergies SE, and Occidental Petroleum Corp. have joined the initiative. Notably absent are Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips.

The list of national oil companies encompasses Petrobras from Brazil, NNPC from Nigeria, and KazMunaiGaz from Kazakhstan. Notably, China’s largest oil and gas companies have yet to become part of this coalition.

This announcement is a component of a larger initiative named the Global Decarbonization Accelerator. It encompasses a commitment to triple global renewable energy deployment by 2030 and strategies to address pollution in heavy industries.

What is COP?

COP stands for Conference of the Parties, referring to the annual meetings held by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). These conferences bring together nations to discuss and negotiate actions to combat climate change. Each COP aims to assess progress, set targets, and negotiate agreements towards addressing global climate issues.

COP28 is the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference. The conference is taking place at Expo City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates from November 30 to December 12, 2023.

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