COP28: Fifty oil and gas companies sign net zero, methane pledges

Some 50 oil and natural gas producers, including Saudi Aramco and 29 other national oil companies, have signed an agreement to reduce their carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 and curb methane emissions to near-zero by 2030, the COP presidency of the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai said Dec. 2.

COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber said the pledges were part of his efforts to proactively engage with oil and gas companies during the talks. Jaber has faced a number of negative headlines over his concurrent role as the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.

The agreement is part of a Global Decarbonization Accelerator launched at COP28, focused on three pillars: energy systems of the future such as renewables and hydrogen; the fossil fuel sector and emission-intensive industries; and methane.

Under the oil and gas pillar, the industrial transition accelerator will focus on decarbonization across key heavy-emitting sectors: cement, aluminum, steel, oil and gas, power and aviation/maritime.

The 50 oil and gas companies account for 40% of global oil production. The net zero commitment relates to scope 1 and 2 emissions, a COP28 presidency spokesman said.

Key national oil companies such as Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, QatarEnergy, Iraq's State Oil Marketing Company, China's Sinopec, CNOOC and PetroChina, and the National Iranian Oil Company, were missing from this list.

This comes as many investors and activists, don't believe the industry has done enough and they have doubled down on efforts to put these companies under pressure. Many fossil fuel producers will be forced to balance the need to maximize shareholders' financial returns with pressures to decarbonize.

Signatories to the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter

Source: COP28 presidency