We’ve got an important message to get out there today OMBLES and there is a great prize to be won for the winning submission!
Over the past week, COP28 has seen world leaders meeting to address the climate crisis, such as limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, helping vulnerable communities adapt to the effects of climate change, and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
However, the Oil and Gas Decarbonisation Charter has largely been a greenwashing exercise by the COP President and industry to make it look like they're getting on board for the energy transition and fossil fuel phase out. In reality, the Charter isn't Paris Agreement or 1.5 aligned, it allows companies to set their own net zero targets which they're not held to account to achieve, it repackages existing agreements and pledges, and worst of all - it claims to boldly tackle fossil fuels by excluding 80-95% of the industry's total emissions.
That’s why we’re teaming up with the OMBLES to highlight this greenwashing today and show that more needs to be done!
One Minute Brief of the Day:
Create posters highlighting why the newly-announced Oil and Gas Decarbonisation Charter, which recycles existing pledges, allows Big Oil to set targets they're not accountable for, and excludes 80-95% of industry's total emissions, is a dangerous distraction from the #Cop28 process.
Tweet your entries to @OneMinuteBriefs with the hashtag #COP28 & #NoMoreGreenwashing
Prizes:
WINNER: £300 CASH!!!
Runner-Up: £200 CASH!!
3rd Place: £100 CASH!
What Is Greenwashing?
Greenwashing is the process of conveying a false impression or misleading information about how a company’s products are environmentally sound. Greenwashing involves making an unsubstantiated claim to deceive consumers into believing that a company’s products are environmentally friendly or have a greater positive environmental impact than they actually do.
● 50 oil and gas companies signed up to the Global Decarbonization Charter (OGDC) at COP28 in Dubai, including 29 Nationally Owned Companies.
● Under the initiative, the companies pledged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Although it is voluntary and broadly repeats previous pledges made in 2021.
● The agreement sets targets for reducing carbon dioxide and methane emissions, but does not affect oil and gas production or emissions from consumption.
How the charter falls short
The Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter made several pledges related to reducingemissions and investing in energy systems. However, these fall short of what is needed to reach the Paris Agreement goals of limiting global warming to well below 2°C and pursuing efforts to limit global temperature increase to 1.5°C.
Pledge 1: Reducing emissions
Charter signatories claim to support the Paris Agreement goals and the goal of reaching net zero by 2050.
● These goals set no short term targets, despite the IEA showing that Scope 1 and 2 emissions from oil and gas need to be reduced by 60% by 2030 to remain on track for global net zero emissions by 2050.
● The companies do not commit to cutting back oil and gas activities under the agreement. A report from United Nations experts recommended that oil and gas companies end production, expansion of reserves and exploration for new fields in order to reach net zero emissions. It concluded that “non-state actors cannot claim to be net-zero while continuing to build or invest in new fossil fuel supply”.
● For their goals to be meaningful, and not just pay lip service to the Paris Agreement, charter signatories must also align their lobbying efforts and leave associations that are opposed to Paris-aligned climate policies.
Pledge 2: Investment in energy systems
OGDC members pledged to invest in the energy system of the future.
● Without any quantifiable targets, this promise is too vague to be meaningful and needs to be accompanied by a phase-out date for oil and gas production.
● A new IEA report finds that the industry allocated just 2.5% of its capital expenditure to clean energy 2022 and that this will need to rise to 50% by 2030 in order to align with the Paris Agreement.
Pledge 3: Methane and flaring
Members pledged to achieve near zero methane emissions by 2030.
● Intensity targets do not guarantee overall reductions in emissions if production volumes are increasing. Instead, targets should be set for absolute methane emissions reductions, in line with the 75% reduction by 2030 called for in the IEA
● Previous initiatives, such as the Zero Routine Flaring Initiative launched by the World Bank in 2015, failed to reduce flaring. While flaring intensity has improved as a result of decoupling from oil production, total volumes of gas flaring have not materially declined since 2010. The industry’s own efforts have also not led to sufficient reduction in flaring.
