The oil and gas industry needs to make tough decisions now to speed up its transition to clean energy and reduce emissions, the International Energy Agency (IEA) urged on Thursday, a week ahead of the 2023 UN Climate Climate Conference (COP28).
It’s a matter of choosing between contributing to a worsening climate crisis or being part of the solution by adopting the clean energy path, the agency notes in a special report devoted to the fossil fuel industry in the energy transition.
The report outlines what oil and gas companies should do to bring their activities in line with the Paris Agreement’s most ambitious objective – limiting global warming to +1.5°C compared to pre-industrial times.
To meet this target, producers will have to devote 50% of their capital expenditure to clean energy by 2030, in addition to the sums required to reduce emissions from their operations.
It’s a tall order: in 2022, they invested around $20 billion (€18.3 billion) in clean energies, just 2.5% of their total capital expenditure, the IEA said one week ahead of the opening of COP28 in Dubai, where a battle is shaping up between states over the future of fossil fuels.
The oil and gas industry will be facing a “moment of truth” at COP28 in Dubai, the IEA said.
