Hypocrisy Sours COP28

by Robert Hunziker / December 1st, 2023

Hypocrisy runs rampant at COP28 even before the doors swung open to 70,000 delegates on Thursday, November 30th. This is the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties (“COP”) held at Expo City, Dubai. It’s the big annual event for scientists to meet to decide on the fate of anthropogenic climate change, assuming that’s even possible.

This year’s big climate summit is headed by Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (“ADNOC”) of the United Arab Emirates. Leaked documents show Emirati officials using their leadership position at the climate summit to “lobby for oil and gas deals around the world.” That’s disgusting and an international scandal of the highest order. Although, November 29th Ahmed Al-Jaber vociferously denied the allegations, according to Bloomberg News.

Nevertheless, the Centre for Climate Reporting as of November 27th reported COP28 President Secretly Used Climate Summit Role to Push Oil Trade with Foreign Government Official: “Leaked documents reveal COP28 president and UAE national oil company boss Sultan Al Jaber’s plans to discuss boosting fossil fuel business in bilateral meetings about the climate summit.”

Also, according to a BBC report, November 28th: “Al Jaber… has held scores of meetings with senior government officials, royalty, and business leaders from around the world in recent months. The COP28 team has quietly planned to use this access as an opportunity to increase exports of ADNOC’s oil and gas.”

Leaked briefings show Al-Jaber planned to use his new-found international leadership role as president of COP28 to raise commercial interests with almost 30 countries. A whistleblower came forward on condition of anonymity, confirming follow up discussions with at least one commercial party.

Professor Michael Jacobs of Sheffield University, commenting to the BBC: “As a COP president you should not represent any national or commercial interest, it is your job to lead the world… The UAE at the moment is the custodian of a United Nations process aimed at reducing global emissions. And yet, in the very same meetings where it’s apparently trying to pursue that goal, it’s actually trying to do side deals that will increase global emissions.”

Internal emails and meeting records obtained by the Centre for Climate Reporting raise serious questions about the COP28 leadership team’s independence from the national oil company ADNOC. Moreover, whistleblowers claim COP28 staff were in regular contact with the national oil company over talking points for ADNOC targeting specific country oil deals.

The New York Times further reported Using Climate Talks to Sell Fossil Fuels, November 28th: UAE officials used their position of influence at the climate conference behind the scenes to influence Brazil’s environment minister to help with a local petrochemical deal by ADNOC. And Emirati officials, using their position at COP28, influenced Chinese counterparts about working on a joint international LNG opportunity. The article goes on to say that diplomats and climate experts from around the world have expressed shock at the leaked documents.

According to Christiana Figueres, former UN diplomat: “The U.A.E. has been caught red-handed.”

Early supporters of Al-Jaber for president of COP28 claim he was well positioned to convince oil producers of the world to tackle climate change. According to the IEA, the world’s oil and gas industry accounts for only one percent of all global investment in clean energy. Supporters claimed Al-Jaber would substantially increase that number.

However, COP28 has now turned into a scandalous deception undermining hope for mutual trust amongst members, as well as deflating hopes for significant progress, even before the summit began.

All of which begs the provocative question of how in the world did the UAE become host to a climate change conference in the first instance? And even more perplexing yet, how did Al-Jaber become president of COP28? Is COP a Cabal of Producers or a Conference of the Parties for climate change purposes?

“They went too far in naming the C.E.O. of one of the largest — and by many measures one of the dirtiest — oil companies on the planet as the president of the U.N. Conference on Climate this year,’ former vice president Al Gore.” (Source: Fossil Fuels and Frustration at COP28, The New York Times, November 30, 2023)

The hypocrisy runs even deeper than Al-Jaber and the UAE. Although, it’s nearly impossible to match the alleged duplicity, chicanery of Al-Jaber/UAE using the UN Climate Conference as an easily manipulated stooge to promote their own oil and gas deals.

A recent UN Environment Programme in collaboration with academic institutions studied plans for the 20 largest fossil fuel producing countries that account for 84% of global carbon emissions: “The findings paint a grim picture: Governments’ plans show they intend to produce, in total, 110% more fossil fuels in 2030 than are compatible with the 1.5°C limit set out in the Paris Agreement, and 69% more than is consistent with 2°C of warming.” (Source: The Production Gap)

Expected Oil & Gas Commitments at COP28

According to the World Resources Institute: “It’s essential that this UN climate summit not become a platform for pledges by the oil and gas industry that fail to tackle the core issue at stake. At COP28, the UAE is expected to announce a commitment from at least 20 major oil and gas companies to reduce methane leakage and reach net-zero emissions by 2050 – but only for their own operations, not for the fuel they sell. By not addressing the so-called “Scope 3” emissions of the fuel produced from their oil and gas extraction and then sold, the oil and gas industry is sidestepping the emissions that account for up to 95% of its contribution to the climate crisis.”

 Meantime, alarming data about forthcoming global warming and ecosystem degradation across the globe is far beyond the mindset and scope of intellect of host country UAE to handle a major UN Climate Change Conference. It simply does not fit. It’s embarrassing!

The focus of COP28 should be on relevant science: Earth’s energy imbalance or “sunlight in” versus “sunlight out” is currently running at a frightful rate @ 1.36 W/m²  as of the 2020s decade. This is beyond troubling. It’s double the 2005-2015 rate @ 0.71 W/m² (James Hansen,”Global Warming is Accelerating. Why? Will We Fly Blind?” September 14, 2023). W/m² is watts per square meter. Accordingly, there’s more energy coming in (absorbed sunlight) than energy going out (heat radiated to space) doubling within only one decade, which is beyond belief, assuring very challenging bad news down the line. This is an enormously dangerous climate event that’s already in process with potentially devastating earmarks.

It’s not surprising that Dr. James Hansen, Earth Institute, Columbia University expects an early arrival of the dreaded 2.0°C above pre-industrial by the late 2030s, far ahead of IPCC expectations, which will crush many life support ecosystems; meanwhile, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) fossil fuel producers plan on cranking up production to record levels. Thus, both global warming and oil production can join hands simultaneously setting new records.

All the above adds up to disturbing levels of an indescribable insanity; furthermore, more insanity is expected as climate analysts expect an avalanche of greenwashing at COP28, already identified by the World Resources Institute in the preceding fourth paragraph.

Speaking of which, Al-Jaber informed Bloomberg News, November 29th, “all of his meetings have been focused on how the world can collectively keep global temperature rise below 1.5C from pre-industrial levels.” Al-Jaber also previously said that emissions must be cut by 43% by 2030 because that’s what the science says must be done. Yet, ADNOC, his oil company, has plans to increase oil production by 600,000 barrels per day by 2030, spending $150B for more oil production.

Go figure!

Robert Hunziker (MA, economic history, DePaul University) is a freelance writer and environmental journalist whose articles have been translated into foreign languages and appeared in over 50 journals, magazines, and sites worldwide. He can be contacted at: rlhunziker@gmail.com. Read other articles by Robert.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

COP28: More than 110 nations commit to tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030

More than 110 countries committed Saturday to triple renewable energy capacity worldwide by 2030 and double the annual rate of energy efficiency improvements. The deal came as world leaders gathered for a third day of the COP28 summit in Dubai.


Issued on: 02/12/2023

An image from the COP 28 UN climate summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on December 2, 2023. 

© Peter Dejong, AP

By: FRANCE 24

More than 100 nations commit to tripling renewable energy capacity

More than a hundred countries have committed to triple renewable energy capacity worldwide by 2030 and double the annual rate of energy efficiency improvements.

G20 nations, which account for nearly 80 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, paved the way for a deal when they endorsed the renewable energy goal in September.

While supporters are expected to push for the pledge to be included in the final outcome of the talks, there are fears that the COP28 hosts were willing to shunt the more ambitious targets into voluntary deals.

Colombia joins call to end new fossil fuel development

Colombia on Saturday became one of the largest fossil fuel producers to join a group of climate vulnerable island nations calling to end new development of planet-heating coal, oil and gas.

According to a statement from the initiative, Colombian Environment Minister Susana Muhamad said it was “frightening” that governments around the world continued to plan to expand their fossil fuel exploitation.

Scientists, as well as the International Energy Agency and the UN’s Environment Programme, have warned that significant new development of coal, oil and gas is incompatible with the international community’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.

Calls for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty have been championed by a group of island nations, mainly in the Pacific, Caribbean and Asia.

Colombia’s announcement brings the group’s membership to 10 countries, while it also lists cities, the European Parliament and World Health Organization among its supporters.

US pledges $3 billion to green climate fund

US Vice President Kamala Harris told the UN’s COP28 conference that the United States will contribute $3 billion to a global climate fund – its first pledge since 2014.

“Today, we are demonstrating through action how the world can and must meet this (climate) crisis,” Harris told world leaders at the summit.
‘Find a breakthrough’, Pope Francis tells UN climate summit​​​​

Pope Francis, unable to attend the COP28 climate summit in person, called on world leaders on Saturday to find a breakthrough to tackle global rising temperatures, calling the destruction of the environment “an offence against God”.

In a speech read out by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin due to the pope’s ill health, he said: “I am with you because the destruction of the environment is an offence against God”.

“Brothers and sisters, it is essential that there be a breakthrough that is not a partial change of course, but rather a new way of making progress together.”
More than 110 countries join pledge to triple renewable energy

More than 110 countries have joined a pledge to triple the world's renewable energy by 2030, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

Von der Leyen called on "all of us to include these targets in the final COP decision”.

Whether governments and companies will rally the huge investments needed to hit the goal is an open question. While deployment of renewables like solar and wind has been surging globally for years, rising costs, labour constraints and supply chain issues have forced project delays and cancellations in recent months, costing developers like Orsted and BP billions of dollars in write-downs.

Getting the deal into the final UN climate summit decision would also require consensus among the nearly 200 countries present. While China and India have signalled support for tripling global renewable energy by 2030, neither has confirmed it will back the overall pledge – which pairs the ramp-up in clean power with a reduction in fossil fuel use.

South Africa, Vietnam, Australia, Japan, Canada, Chile and Barbados are among the countries already on board, officials said.

More than 20 nations call for tripling of nuclear energy

More than 20 countries have called for the tripling of world nuclear energy capacity as part of efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

A declaration endorsed by nations including the United States, Ghana, Japan and several European countries said nuclear energy plays a “key role” in reaching the goal of carbon neutrality

The use of nuclear energy as a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels is controversial as environmental groups are concerned about safety and the disposal of nuclear waste.

“We are not making the argument to anybody that this is absolutely going to be a sweeping alternative to every other energy source,” US climate envoy John Kerry said. “But we know because the science and the reality of facts and evidence tell us that you can’t get to net zero 2050 without some nuclear,” he said.

The aim is to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050 from 2020 levels.

The other countries that signed up to the declaration include the UK, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Hungary, South Korea, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates.

(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP and Reuters)

Over 110 countries support tripling renewables by 2030: EU chief

Dubai (AFP) – More than 110 countries want the COP28 climate negotiations to adopt a goal of tripling renewable energy and doubling energy efficiency by 2030, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Friday.

Issued on: 01/12/2023

All credible pathways for achieving global carbon neutrality by mid-century depend on massively scaling up wind, solar, hydroelectric and other renewable energies, such as biomass 

© Daniel ROLAND / AFP/File

The European Union first appealed for the new target earlier this year, and the cause has since been taken up by COP28 hosts the United Arab Emirates, then the G7 and G20 groups of nations.

G20 nations alone account for nearly 80 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Von der Leyen told leaders at the UN climate talks in Dubai that it was "fantastic" that more than 110 nations had already embraced the goal.

"I call now on all of us to include these targets in the final COP decision, because this sends a strong message to investors and consumers alike," she said from the podium.

The discussions about the renewables goal are both separate but closely linked to far more difficult negotiations about whether a final COP28 deal will commit nations to phasing down -- or phasing out -- all fossil fuels.

In September, when G20 nations committed to "encourage efforts" towards tripling renewables capacity, their final statement remained silent about the future role played by fossil fuels, which account for the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions.

All credible pathways for achieving global carbon neutrality by mid-century depend on massively scaling up wind, solar, hydroelectric and other renewable energies such as biomass to displace the demand for planet-heating oil, gas and coal.

This is "the single most important lever" for reducing carbon pollution from burning fossil fuels, and capping warming under the Paris Agreement's ambitious threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius compared with the pre-industrial period, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said.

There has already been progress. Between 2015 and 2022, renewable capacity increased on average by 11 percent each year.

Against a backdrop of soaring oil prices and energy insecurity linked to the war in Ukraine, the IEA forecasts unprecedented growth of about 30 percent in 2023.

Not all countries will have to make the same efforts to slash emissions. Of the 57 nations analysed by the think tank Ember, more than half were on track to meet or exceed their 2030 targets.

But other large emitters such as Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates still have plenty of room for improvement.

© 2023 AFP

At COP28 meeting, oil companies pledge to combat methane. Environmentalists call it a “smokescreen”

Capuava oil refinery owned by Petrobras sits in Maui, on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Monday, Nov. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)

COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber speaks during a session at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

BY JON GAMBRELL, PETER PRENGAMAN AND SETH BORENSTEIN
December 2, 2023Share

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Fifty oil companies representing nearly half of global production have pledged to reach near-zero methane emissions and end routine flaring in their operations by 2030, the president of this year’s United Nations climate talks said Saturday, a move that environmental groups called a “smokescreen.”

Methane emissions are a significant contributor to global warming, so sharply reducing them could help slow temperature rise. If the companies carry out their pledges, it could trim one-tenth of a degree Celsius (0.18 degrees Fahrenheit) from future warming, a prominent climate scientist calculated and told The Associated Press. That is about how much the Earth is currently warming every five years.

The announcement by Sultan al-Jaber, president of the climate summit known as COP28 and head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., comes as he and others have insisted his background would allow him to bring oil companies to the negotiating table. Al-Jaber has maintained that having the industry’s buy-in is crucial to drastically slashing the world’s greenhouse emissions by nearly half in seven years to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) compared with pre-industrial times.

Signing on to the pledge were major national oil companies such as Saudi Aramco, Brazil’s Petrobras and Sonangol, from Angola, and multi-nationals like Shell, TotalEnergies and BP.

“The world does not work without energy,” said al-Jaber, speaking in a session on the oil industry. “Yet the world will break down if we do not fix energies we use today, mitigate their emissions at a gigaton scale, and rapidly transition to zero carbon alternatives.”

As if anticipating critiques, al-Jaber added: “Is it enough? Hear me out, please. No, it’s not enough. I say with full passion and conviction, I know that much more can be done.”

For months leading up to COP28, there was speculation of action on methane. Not only do methane leaks, along with flaring, which is burning of excess methane, and venting of the gas, all contribute to climate change, but these problems can largely be solved with current technologies and changes to operations. Indeed, oil and gas companies could have taken such measures years ago but largely have not, instead focusing more on expanding production than focusing on the byproduct of it.

In that way, the methane deal represented a potentially significant contribution to combatting climate change that also largely maintained the status quo for the oil and gas industry. Many environmental groups were quick to criticize it.

The pledge is a “smokescreen to hide the reality that we need to phase out oil, gas and coal,” said a letter signed by more than 300 civil society groups.

Jean Su, energy justice director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said “the commitments to cut methane are significant, but they address the symptom, not the source.”

But Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp said Saturday’s deal “could be the single most impactful day of announcements from any COP in my 30 years at the Environmental Defense Fund.”

Methane has caused about half of the world’s warming since pre-industrial times, al-Jaber said, promoting the deal as significant. However, methane escaping from oil and gas drilling is only about 23% of the world’s methane emissions, with agriculture and waste being bigger culprits, said Climate Analytics CEO Bill Hare, the climate scientist who calculated the proposal would trim a tenth of a degree from future warming.

“It would be a significant, but not a fundamental contribution” to making sure average temperatures don’t rise beyond 1.5 degrees, Hare said. To keep within that limit, the world needs to cut carbon dioxide about 40% and methane by about 60% by 2030, he said.

Methane can be released at several points along the operation of an oil and gas company, from fracking to when natural gas is produced, transported or stored. Over a shorter period, it’s 86 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. However, methane stays in the air only a couple decades — unlike thousands of years for carbon dioxide — so reducing methane faster is “low-hanging fruit” because it’s easier and changes future warming more, al-Jaber said.

Marcelo Mena, CEO of Global Methane Hub, an alliance of philanthropies and organizations focused on reducing methane emissions, said that having near-zero methane emission commitments should not be seen as delaying a phase out of fossil fuels, as some environmental groups claimed.

“We wouldn’t let oil companies leak into the ocean until phase out, so why would we let them leak out methane to super charge climate change?” said Mena, a former environment minister in Chile.

Still, Mena said that self-reporting didn’t go far enough to push oil and gas companies to make changes. Instead, he said putting a price on pollution, or companies finding themselves shut out of markets that require high standards with leaks, would force change.

Stricter regulations are beginning to take hold. On Saturday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule aimed at reducing methane emissions and other harmful air pollutants generated by the oil and gas industry. It targets emissions from existing oil and gas wells nationwide. Previous EPA regulations only focused on new wells. It also regulates smaller wells that will be required to find and plug methane leaks.

The United States will now have “the strongest methane regulations in the world,” White House climate adviser John Podesta told the AP.

Earlier this year, European Union negotiators reached a deal to reduce methane emissions from the energy industry across the 27-member bloc. The agreement bans routine venting and flaring, and mandates strict reporting. By 2027, it will expand those norms to oil and gas exporters outside the bloc.

Saturday’s announcement did not address the oil and natural gas being burned off by the end users, so-called Scope 3 emissions, which can be motorists in their cars or plants powering cities. In his speech, al-Jaber said oil and gas companies needed to do more to research solutions to Scope 3 emissions.

The Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter is backed by both the United Arab Emirates and neighboring Saudi Arabia, two OPEC heavyweights. Saudi Arabia’s vast oil resources, located close to the surface of its desert expanse, makes it one of the world’s least expensive places to produce crude. Both Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC and Aramco, the world’s third-most-valuable company, have signed onto the pledge.

Separately, organizers said more than 100 countries have signed onto a pledge to triple the world’s installed renewable energy capacity by 2030, something pledged in September by leaders of the so-called Group of 20. Their countries emit 80% of all planet-warming gases.
____

Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

JON GAMBRELL
Gambrell is the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press. He has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the world since joining the AP in 2006.


PETER PRENGAMAN
Prengaman leads AP’s global climate and environment team. He is based in New York.


SETH BORENSTEIN
Seth is a science writer, covering climate & other topics.

50 oil and gas companies pledge to cut operational emissions

Dubai (AFP) – Fifty oil and gas companies representing 40 percent of global production pledged to decarbonise their operations by 2050 at the UN's COP28 climate talks in Dubai on Saturday.

Issued on: 02/12/2023 

A gas flare from a refinery in Ecuador © Pedro PARDO / AFP


Saudi giant Aramco and ADNOC of the United Arab Emirates were among 29 national companies to sign a non-binding agreement that also envisaged zero methane emissions and eliminating routine flaring this decade.

Aramco, the world's biggest oil company, and ADNOC, whose CEO Sultan Al Jaber is president of CO28, had already announced similar CO2-reduction targets -- which do not include emissions when their fuels are used by customers.

"Whilst many national oil companies have adopted net-zero 2050 targets for the first time, I know that they and others, can and need to do more," Jaber said.

Unlike the Western oil majors, which are intensely scrutinised by the public, few large national oil companies had announced such targets.

PetroChina and Brazil's Petrobras also signed up to the new accord, named the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter.

The National Oil Company of Libya, Malaysia's Petronas and Sonangol of Angola were also among the signatories, along with France's TotalEnergies, US firm ExxonMobil, and Britain's BP and Shell.

The charter is part of a set of initiatives designed to accelerate the decarbonisation of the global energy industry, prepared in the year leading up to COP28.

They are voluntary commitments unlike the decisions of COP28, which are taken by consensus between nearly 200 countries under the aegis of the United Nations.

Melanie Robinson, of the World Resources Institute, a non-profit research body, said the agreement showed that non-binding pledges from the industry were not sufficient to address climate change.

"This charter is proof that voluntary commitments from the oil and gas industry will never foster the level of ambition necessary to tackle the climate crisis," she said.

"We can't meet our climate goals unless governments set policies that rapidly and equitably transition our economy away from fossil fuels."

© 2023 AFP

Five CEOs Call for Regulatory Partnership and End to Fossil Fuel Ships

Five the leading shipping industry CEO issued a joint statement on the path to decarbonization (CMA CGM)

PUBLISHED DEC 1, 2023 6:49 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

The CEOs of five of the world’s largest shipping companies took the unusual step of joining together to outline a shared vision to accelerate the decarbonization of the global maritime industry. Timed to the conclusion of the UN’s COP 28 conference in Dubai, the executives of CMA CGM, Maersk, MSC, Hapag, and Wallenius Wilhelmsen called for cooperation including an alliance with the International Maritime Organization and the definitive regulatory measures needed to create the investment conditions critical to accelerating the industry’s green transition.

As four of the largest container shipping companies, along with the leader in vehicle logistics, each of the companies highlights that they have taken steps to drive the transition. They are investing in efforts within their fleets and reiterating their belief that the importance of shipping achieving the IMO’s greenhouse gas targets is very clear. 

“A crucial next step is to introduce regulatory conditions which ensure that we create the most greenhouse gas emission reductions per invested dollar,” said Vincent Clerc, CEO of A.P. Moller – Maersk. “The momentum for green fuel is building and we are pleased to see strong partnerships across the industry as we continue our joint efforts of making decarbonization in shipping successful.” 

As frontrunners, the CEOs are convinced that even closer collaboration with IMO regulators will produce the effective and concrete policy measures needed to underpin the investment within maritime shipping and its ancillary industries that will enable decarbonization to occur at the pace required. Their joint declaration calls for the establishment of regulatory cornerstones to ensure the next steps for the industry and support the transition. 

Soren Toft, Chief Executive Officer of MSC Mediterranean Shipping highlights the belief that the shipping industry is at the forefront of technological innovation when it comes to decarbonization. He added, “The support of governments across the world will be an essential element to reach our common goal.”

The headline grabber from the executives is a call to set an end date for the new building of fossil fuel-only vessels and a clear GHG Intensity Standard timeline to inspire investment confidence for new construction and the required fuel infrastructure. They however are also calling for vessel pooling in regulatory compliance so that the performance of a group of vessels could count instead of only individual new builds.

“We believe that a regulatory framework and clear targets are crucial to accelerating the introduction of alternative fuels and reducing our carbon footprint,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag Lloyd.

Asserting that regulation can play a key role in mitigating the cost of the green transition, the CEOs are also endorsing a global maritime GHG pricing mechanism with “predictable pricing,” which they said could be used to build incentives for energy efficiency. To reduce the price gap between fossil fuel and sustainable marine fuels they are also calling for a pricing mechanism to level the field. They called for distributing the premium for green fuels across all the fossil fuels and suggested the “green balance fee” should go to an RD&D fund and investments in developing countries. 

Rodolphe Saade, Chairman and CEO of CMA CGM Group agreed that the program sets ambitious milestones saying that the industry should reach the upper targets of the IMO trajectory. Speaking for the coalition he also called for others to follow them and join in the efforts to accelerate decarbonization.

To greenwash or do the right thing? Corporate dilemmas at COP28

Dubai (AFP) – They call the giant climate business expo running outside the COP28 United Nations talks in Dubai the "green zone".

Issued on: 02/12/2023 - 

Spectacular: the UN COP28 summit in Dubai is being held on the old Expo 2020 site 

© KARIM SAHIB / AFP
ADVERTISING


With the enormous former Expo 2020 site given over to green -- and not so green -- companies to trumpet their climate credentials, the private sector has never been embraced so warmly at a climate summit as it has been in the oil-rich city state.

An astonishing 400,000 visitors have registered for day passes to the futuristic jamboree, with stands touting the latest carbon capture tech to a vegetable garden trying to hold up under the desert heat.

And that is not counting the 80,000 people accredited to the talks themselves.

Corporate pledges have been coming thick and fast, with Dubai-based Emirate Airlines -- which has its own pavilion -- heralding its first flight with "100 percent sustainable aviation fuel" and BNP Paribas bank saying they were phasing out financing projects related to extracting coking coal.

Others have been more hazy. The public relations teams of big companies feel they have to "come up with something during COP", sustainable finance expert Laurent Lascols told AFP. But most of the time they recycle "something they already have on the go".

But Sanda Ojiambo, assistant secretary-general of UN Global Compact, which tries to spur corporations towards sustainable development, praised the "very active and dynamic business movement that happens at COP.

A woman walks through the COP28 site in Dubai © KARIM SAHIB / AFP

"As long as it's credible and tangible and transparent, I think it really continues to demonstrate forward-looking discussion," she added.

But only 18 percent of big firms worldwide are cutting emissions "fast enough to reach net zero by 2050", according to a report last month by consultants Accenture.

Another by the Boston Consulting Group found that just 14 percent had reduced their carbon emissions in line with their own ambitions in the past five years -- and only one in 10 measured them precisely.

While COP28's Emirati president Sultan Al Jaber could not be more business friendly, experts say lingering suspicions of conflicts of interest -- Jaber is also CEO of the UAE's national oil and gas company -- put corporations in a complicated position.
Big business commitments

It is not as easy to make big announcements in Dubai "where you might be in the firing line" compared with the COP26 in Glasgow, said Lascols, because the UK was "more a model pupil in terms of energy transition".

More than 1,100 CEOs and heads of philanthropic organisations were due to take part in COP28 

© Jewel SAMAD / AFP

"We did ask ourselves the question" whether we should go to Dubai, admitted the representative of a large French group, before deciding to press ahead "because it is important to take every chance to help move the lines". Other companies questioned by AFP took a similar stance.

But corporations are also at COP28 to influence as well as sell, with a huge number of lobbyists present.

And not all of them are trying to help wriggle out of responsibility for the climate.

More than 200 major corporations including the likes of Ikea, Coca-Cola, Sony, DHL, Heineken and Nestle have recently called on national leaders to set a timeline for phasing out unabated fossil fuels –- without the use of controversial carbon capture and storage technologies.

Many of them are also urging their energy suppliers to do the same and decarbonise their businesses.

Maria Mendiluce, head of We Mean Business, which coordinated the appeal, said we need to back companies trying to do the right thing. "We tend to focus on criticising those who are doing something... (but) we need to highlight those that are not doing anything."

 

Nuclear energy no longer a taboo, WNE hears

01 December 2023

Much progress has been made over recent years in the representation of nuclear in national, regional and international debates on energy and the climate, speakers agreed at the opening session of the World Nuclear Exhibition (WNE) in Paris this week.

Grossi speaking during the opening session at WNE (Image: WNN)

"In my speech [to WNE] two years ago, I dared to say the following: 'Nuclear power might be ready to make a comeback'," noted Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency. "Today I can assure you nuclear is making a strong comeback, a very strong comeback."

He said this comeback was happening due to several factors. Firstly, there are some countries with established nuclear industries that have changed their mind on reducing or phasing out their use of nuclear energy. Meanwhile, there is a "growing appetite for nuclear power" around the world, with some countries taking the decision to construct nuclear power plants. "China, India, France, the USA, Canada, Poland. Many, many countries are now looking at nuclear power much more closely and with the greater interest," Birol said.

Energy security, environmental concerns - especially climate change - and the competitiveness of nuclear have been the three main driving forces for changes in attitudes among governments and investors, he added.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, also noted there have been "a number of very, very encouraging facts that have been taking place" since the previous WNE.

"Fatih was rightly saying countries one after the other, perhaps with one exception, have been reviewing, revising, or annotating previous decisions in what I would call more than a nuclear renaissance, more a return to common sense."

Grossi said there had been some positive developments for nuclear in several countries, including the restart of several Japanese reactors, a reversal of South Korea's nuclear phase-out policy, the start of construction of a nuclear power plant in Egypt and the grid connection of new reactors in the UAE and the USA.

"All of this might indicate that we are in an extremely positive situation, but we are not," he said. "The reality is that all of these very positive developments are adding much less nuclear than what we actually need.

"For these figures to improve, for this trend to be consolidated, of course there are a number of things that need to happen and I think it is important that we face this and that we are clear about this situation. One important thing, of course, has been and will be a number of political decisions that need to be taken. Without the right political decision, of course, we may have a number of very convincing argument but nothing is going to change."

Birol said the nuclear industry has three priorities. Firstly, it should increase the capacity of nuclear power plants. "There's huge room for that and a huge appetite for that," he said. Secondly, the lifetime of existing reactors should be extended. "In my view, it is the cheapest source of clean electricity generation and I see that there is a growing appetite across the world." Thirdly, he said, there needs to be innovation, such as small modular reactors (SMRs).

On financing, Grossi said: "We are still living in an environment that is charged with, in some cases, statutory provisions for international financing institutions that prevent, black on white, prevent nuclear projects to be financed. This has definitely to change."

Birol echoed this by saying that because nuclear power was capital intensive the sector is unlikely to grow without government support. "There should be genuine government support, as governments support other clean energy options." He said investment should also be facilitated by the multilateral development banks (MDB). "I do not know why the MDBs up to now did not show enough interest in nuclear investment, especially life time extensions and small modular reactors."

The nuclear sector has come a long way when it comes to its representation at the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings. Speaking of COP28, starting in Dubai, Grossi said: "I can tell you that for the first time - imagine, it's been 27 cops - but never ever before, countries that use nuclear energy were ready to say it at one point. It was a taboo for the COPs. Nuclear was not something that was considered as part of a solution. And this time all the countries that are using nuclear energy are going to proudly stand together and say that for them, at the COP, that nuclear is part of that solution."

Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Internal Market at the European Commission, also speaking in the opening session, added: "Coming here, it was so strange to see how vibrant the whole industry is. It's amazing. I would tell you that nuclear is no more a taboo, even in the European Commission."

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

US leads call at COP28 to triple nuclear energy to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050

Issued on: 02/12/2023 -

UAE Minister of Energy, Suhail al-Mazrouei, speaks at an event for nuclear energy at the COP28 UN Climate Summit, on Saturday, December 2, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. © Peter Dejon, AP

03:53
Video by: Valérie DEKIMPE  

More than 20 nations including the United States called for a tripling of nuclear energy to drive down emissions on Saturday as world leaders assembled for the third day of the UN climate talks in Dubai.

COP28: Calls for more nuclear and less 'destructive' methane

Dubai (AFP) – The United States led calls at UN climate talks Saturday for efforts to curb methane emissions but also pushed a deeply controversial drive to boost nuclear energy to curb global warming.


Issued on: 02/12/2023

Nuclear push: US climate envoy John Kerry 

© Ludovic MARIN / AFP

With smoggy skies in Dubai highlighting the challenges facing the world, other pledges are expected at the COP28 conference, including stepping up the deployment of renewable energy.

The use of nuclear power as a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels is highly controversial as environmental groups are concerned about safety and the disposal of nuclear waste.

But more than 20 nations ranging from the US to Ghana, Japan and several European countries said in a declaration that it plays a "key role" in the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by mid-century.

They called for the tripling of nuclear energy capacity by 2050 from 2020 levels.

"We are not making the argument to anybody that this is absolutely going to be a sweeping alternative to every other energy source," US climate envoy John Kerry said at COP28.

"But we know because (of) the science and the reality of facts... that you can't get to net zero 2050 without some nuclear," he said.

The other signatories include Britain, France, South Korea, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates. But nuclear powers Russia and China did not sign up.

Environmental group 350.org said the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan highlighted the dangers of atomic power.

South Korean activists protest at Japan's plan to release wastewater from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant 

© Jung Yeon-je / AFP

"While we appreciate that the Biden administration is looking to invest in alternatives to fossil fuels, we don't have time to waste on dangerous distractions like nuclear energy," said its North American director Jeff Ordower.

Experts point to the fact that nuclear plants can take decades to go into service.

"Nuclear energy takes much longer than renewable energy to be operational," 350.org added.

Fossil fuel expansion 'frightening'

The declaration came as more than 50 world leaders took the stage at COP28 for the second day in a row, though US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are skipping the talks.

"Today, we are demonstrating through action how the world can and must meet this crisis," Harris said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said energy transition "has to be now", adding: "We all have to demonstrate the same determination to phase out fossil fuels, beginning with coal."

Meanwhile Colombia became one of the largest fossil fuel producers to join a group of climate-vulnerable island nations calling to end new development of planet-heating coal, oil and gas.

Colombia said its decision to join the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative was an important step in its climate plans.

Colombian Environment Minister Susana Muhamad said it was "frightening" that governments continued to plan to expand their fossil fuel exploitation.

Methane, often from farm animals, is the second biggest contributor to climate change © Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

While nations are locked in contentious negotiations on a phase out or phase down of fossil fuels, there is broad backing for the tripling of renewable energy by 2030, an issue that will feature highly on Saturday.

The US and China, the world's two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, will later hold a summit with the UAE on methane emissions, the second driver of global warming after fossil fuels.

"The science must be simple: to turn down the heat, you simply have to turn down the methane," said Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley.

Washington has announced it will tighten curbs on methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.

Methane: a potent greenhouse gas 

© Jonathan WALTER, Laurence SAUBADU / AFP

The new standards would phase in eliminating routine flaring of natural gas produced by oil wells and require comprehensive monitoring of methane leaks from wells and compression stations.

Methane emissions also come from the agriculture sector, with cows and sheep releasing the gas during digestion and in their manure.

Methane "is the most destructive gas", Kerry said.

© 2023 AFP

Nuclear power has role to play, atomic energy head tells AFP at COP28

Dubai (AFP) – It would be a mistake to reject nuclear power because of problems at a handful of projects, Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said in an interview with AFP.

Issued on: 02/12/2023 

Rafael Grossi, pictured in Vienna in November 2023, believes international lending organisations need to rethink their nuclear policies 

© Joe Klamar / AFP

Grossi was speaking at the COP28 conference in Dubai, where on Saturday a group of large countries are expected to call for nuclear power capacity to be tripled by 2050 as part of the fight against global warming.

Supporters of atomic power say it is an essential source of reliable emissions-free energy.

But detractors point to the risks and high costs of massive nuclear projects at a time when the price of renewable energies continues to fall.

"There is work to do," Grossi admitted, citing the financing needs of countries that wish to extend their nuclear fleets, such as Brazil, Argentina, and South Africa.

Grossi said countries tempted to take the nuclear leap, including Morocco, Senegal, Kenya and the Philippines, face similar challenges.

"There are statutes in some international lending organisations that exclude financing for nuclear," the Argentinian director general said.

"I think that is completely obsolete. It does not correspond to any scientific or technological criteria."

The World Bank, for instance, has not financed a nuclear project since 1959.

"I think, and I hope there will be an evolution" in their thinking, Grossi said.
Proliferation risk 'should not exist'

Some environmentalists argue that with certain nuclear projects already 10 years behind schedule, they are simply too costly and will not be ready in time to respond to climate challenges.

But rejecting all nuclear projects because of these setbacks would be "an error", Grossi insisted.

"Look, here in the Emirates... there was no nuclear here a decade ago and now there are four reactors," meeting about a quarter of the country's electricity demands.

The nuclear industry is resting much of its hopes on small modular reactors (SMR), which are less powerful but easier to construct.

There are concerns that less developed countries might not have the means to keep these installations safe and avoid proliferation.

"It is a legitimate question, but that is why we were created," Grossi responded, pointing to the flag of his agency, which carries atomic symbols on a United Nations blue background.

"Any country wanting to develop a nuclear programme must follow a full procedure and draw up an agreement with the Agency," he said.

"In principle, that means the risk of proliferation should not exist."

For example, the Emirates had to complete 19 steps while developing its civil nuclear programme, including setting up an independent supervisory body.

Grossi said he does not think the dangers faced by Ukraine's reactors since the start of Russia's invasion are an argument against nuclear power, either.

"The problem is war, not nuclear," he said without hesitation.

However, he could not hide his concern as winter approaches.

"The ground will harden, the tanks can move, the rivers will freeze, we see a lot of military equipment on both sides. Yes, that obviously worries us."

© 2023 AFP

Ministerial declaration puts nuclear at heart of climate action

02 December 2023

Twenty two countries have signed up to the goal of tripling global nuclear energy capacity by 2050, at the UN's COP28 climate change conference.

Sama Bilbao y León said the significance of the declaration could not be overstated (Image: WNA)

The heads of state, or senior officials, from Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Ghana,  Hungary, Japan, South Korea, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the UK and the USA signed the declaration at the conference taking place in Dubai.

Speaking during the launch ceremony at the event, the US Presidential climate envoy John Kerry was reported by Reuters to have said that the signatories believed that the world could not get to Net Zero without building more nuclear energy capacity: "We are not making the argument that this is absolutely going to be the sweeping alternative to every other energy source. But ... you can't get to net-zero 2050 without some nuclear."

The declaration says the countries recognise the need for a trebling of nuclear energy capacity to achieve "global net-zero greenhouse gas/carbon neutrality by or around mid-century and in keeping a 1.5 degrees celsius limit on temperature rise within reach". It also recognises that "new nuclear technologies could occupy a small land footprint and can be sited where needed, partner well with renewable energy sources and have additional flexibilities that support decarbonisation beyond the power sector, including hard-to-abate industrial sectors".

And there is recognition of the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency to support its member states to include nuclear in their national energy planning, as well as agreement on the importance of financing for new nuclear and it recognises "the need for high-level political engagement to spur further action on nuclear power".

Those signing the declaration commit to:

• Work together to advance a global aspirational goal of tripling nuclear energy capacity from 2020 by 2050, recognising the different domestic circumstances of each participant
• Take domestic actions to ensure nuclear power plants are operated responsibly and in line with the highest standards of safety, sustainability, security, and non-proliferation, and that fuel waste is responsibly managed for the long term
• Mobilise investments in nuclear power, including through innovative financing mechanisms and invite the World Bank and other international financial institutions' shareholders to encourage the inclusion of nuclear energy in their organisations' energy lending policies
• To supporting the development and construction of nuclear reactors, such as small modular and other advanced reactors for power generation as well as wider industrial applications for decarbonisation, such as for hydrogen or synthetic fuels production
• To supporting responsible nations looking to explore new civil nuclear deployment under the highest standards of safety, sustainability, security, and non-proliferation

They also recognise the importance of promoting resilient supply chains and, where feasible, of extending the lifetimes of existing nuclear power plants. The signatories also "resolve to review progress towards these commitments on an annual basis on the margins of the COP" and "call on other countries to join this declaration".

The declaration comes with nuclear energy becoming increasingly recognised by countries as being a key part of efforts to cut carbon emissions and tackle climate change. The Net Zero Nuclear initiative, which was co-founded by Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation and World Nuclear Association, with support from the International Atomic Energy Agency's Atoms4NetZero initiative, calls for "unprecedented collaboration between government and industry leaders to at least triple global nuclear capacity to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050".

World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León said: "The significance of the Ministerial Declaration cannot be overstated. The countries supporting this declaration are making a resolute commitment, placing nuclear energy at the heart of their strategies for climate change mitigation. Their vision is one that strives for a sustainable, cost-effective, secure, and equitable energy mix all over the world.

"On behalf of the global nuclear industry, I express my deepest appreciation for your collective effort in crafting this bold and pragmatic declaration. Your commitment to nuclear energy is not just a statement; we take it as a challenge extended to the entire nuclear industry worldwide.

"As we move forward, we will unite and

Nuclear to 'shine' at COP28, says Bilbao y León

29 November 2023

The nuclear energy industry will be highly visible at the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), taking place in Dubai over the coming weeks, World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León told delegates at the World Nuclear Exhibition 2023 in Paris.

(Image: WNN)

Nuclear energy, she said, has not been given much prominence at previous COP conferences. However, "for the first time, nuclear energy, which was once the victim of political posturing, is being incorporated whole-heartedly into the climate change conversations and the mitigation plans of many, many, many countries, and certainly we are seen as a positive force at the COP meetings".

This change in stance on nuclear has resulted from "the efforts of several generations of nuclear professionals that have participated in many COPs from the very beginning", Bilbao y León said. In addition, teams of the global nuclear trade associations have also contributed.

"More recently, since Paris, COP21, we need to thank the advocates at the Nuclear for Climate Initiative," she added. "Because all these friends and colleagues of yours have been carrying the nuclear torch at climate change conferences for more than 20 years. They have been doing that at times in the face of quite aggressive opposition."

However, she noted that things have changed "dramatically" over the past couple of years. At COP27, held in Sharm El-Sheikh in 2022, there was the first Atoms for Climate Pavilion, a collaboration between the International Atomic Energy Agency and global nuclear trade associations. Bilbao y León said this was "truly a turning point in how nuclear is presented at COP meetings".

"Not only did we challenge the preconceptions that many people have about nuclear energy, but we also laid the groundwork to actually make sure that nuclear energy is perceived in a manner that is much more positive and inclusive in the context of climate change," she said. "I think what we are seeing in the COP microcosmos is actually a reflection of what we are seeing in the global situation all over the world. We are seeing a new interest in nuclear energy."

She said that an all-inclusive approach is needed so that all low-carbon energy sources, including nuclear, can play a role in creating a sustainable, net-zero global energy future. "To become a reality, the global capacity of nuclear energy needs to multiply by three," Bilbao y León noted.

"Today we have 60 gigawatts of new nuclear under construction all over the world and knowing that it takes 6-7 years for a large nuclear power plant to be built on average, all these reactors will be up and running by 2030," she said. "We also have more that are planned, and we are starting to see them moving forward. And of course, we have many exciting new projects with small modular reactors and advanced technologies. So we are going to see many of these demonstration projects become a reality this decade."

However, in order to achieve a trebling in nuclear capacity, the industry needs to "turn this political good will that we are starting to see into actionable and pragmatic policies". Licensing and regulatory processes need to streamlined and affordable financing must be secured. In addition, the supply chain and human resources must be expanded.

"We are going to need to bring together governments because at the end of the day our policymakers are the ones that are going to set these bold and pragmatic policies and energy markets," Bilbao y León said. "But then we in the nuclear industry need to work together with them because ultimately it is you, all of you, that are going to build and operate this nuclear future."

Looking ahead to COP28, which starts in Dubai on 30 November, she said the summit "will be a very pragmatic and realistic COP and frankly this is the right time for our industry to really shine and show that not only are we talking about the delivery, but we are already putting in place what is needed to provide these goals."

World Nuclear Association, together with the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, have initiated the Net Zero Nuclear platform "to increase the visibility of nuclear energy by bringing together governments, the industry and civil society".

Researched and written by World Nuclear News work together in an ambitious spirit to translate today's goals into tangible achievements. We will continue to maximise our efforts to extend the operations of the existing nuclear fleet and work together to accelerate the deployment of new nuclear projects. We will continue to set the highest standards of quality, safety and security and will continue to work together to attract and cultivate the brightest minds among young scientists, engineers and other professionals to come and join us."

The signing of the ministerial declaration comes the day after the IAEA issued what it called a landmark statement saying the world needs nuclear energy to fight climate change and build "a low carbon bridge" to the future.

"The IAEA and its member states that are nuclear energy producers and those working with the IAEA to promote the benefits of peaceful uses of nuclear energy acknowledge that all available low emission technologies should be recognised and actively supported,” the statement read by IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

“Net zero needs nuclear power. Nuclear power emits no greenhouse gases when it is produced and contributes to energy security and the stability of the power grid, while facilitating the broader uptake of solar and wind power," it added.

COP28 - which stands for the 28th Conference of the Parties to the original 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - is being held in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates from 30 November until 12 December. Representatives of nearly 200 governments are attending and the aim is to continue efforts to limit the global rise in temperatures to 1.5 degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News