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<ul class="summary-list"><li>President-elect Donald Trump has questioned the reality of the climate crisis.</li><li>He's expected to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement, which he also did in his first term.</li></ul>President-elect Donald Trump has long questioned the reality of the climate crisis, describing it as a "scam" and accusing policies to tackle the crisis of destroying US jobs.Many expect him to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement to limit emissions upon taking power in January, as he did in his first term.But his hostility to green policies conflicts with another of his priorities — challenging the rise of China."A second US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement would present a significant opportunity for China to expand its leadership role in multilateral climate issues," Herbert Crowther, an analyst with the Eurasia Group in New York told Business Insider.Trump's victory is overshadowing this week's UN climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, where pledges from Biden administration officials are tempered by the fact they won't be around for long.And China is already positioning itself to fill the power vacuum and build its global influence."In the week since the election, we're already seeing China try to claim the mantle of global climate leadership and portray itself as the more "responsible" actor in this space," Lily McElwee, fellow in the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, told Business Insider."Beijing is out in force at COP29 calling for the United States under Trump to engage in 'constructive dialogue' and highlighting China's contributions to decarbonization through major investments in electric vehicles and other greentech industries."<div type="image" title="Chinese solar power station" height="576" width="1024" msid="115335201" hostid="261" sizebytes="137800"></div><h2 id="f89b9ca3-aa4a-4bb2-a5bf-27324f610f4d">The green tech superpower</h2>China has a curious position as both the world's largest polluter, and a powerhouse of green technology.It tops the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/the-carbon-brief-profile-china/index.html#">rankings for greenhouse emissions</a>, which helped power its huge economic growth in recent decades. In 2020, President Xi Jinping pledged that China would become <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://chinaeucn.com/carbon-neutrality-china/#:~:text=In%20September%202020%2C%20president%20Xi,carbon%20neutrality%20to%20the%20world.">carbon neutral by 2060,</a> and it's on track this year to record its first drop in greenhouse <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-meeting-us-climate-solar-panels-coal-power-energy-security-2024-5">emissions since 2016.</a>At the same time, China has pushed harder to produce its own green technology — and sell it to the rest of the world.It is the world's largest producer of electric vehicles and solar panels, and the percentage of its energy coming from renewable sources <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.iea.org/reports/renewables-2023/executive-summary#">is rapidly growing.</a>That work brings practical and economic benefits. Analysts also point to other motives for Beijing's green push: influence and power."Where the Trump administration sees renewable energy as a threat to jobs, China is leveraging clean energy as part of a long-term strategic gambit," wrote <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-is-poised-to-transform-the-clean-energy-industry/">Daniel Araya of the Brookings Institute in Washington, DC, in 2018.</a>China, as part of its "Belt and Road" initiative to grow its global influence, has provided developing countries with renewable energy technologies, including wind farms."Green tech plays a critical role in Xi's economic vision. While China has spent a decade trying to catch up to the United States and other advanced economies in existing tech (like semiconductors), it is increasingly focused on securing leadership in emerging industries like cleantech," said McElwee.The strategy is paying off, with global demand for renewable energy production technologies predicted to surge, and China set to account for 60% of installed global renewable energy capacity by 2030, according to an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.iea.org/news/massive-global-growth-of-renewables-to-2030-is-set-to-match-entire-power-capacity-of-major-economies-today-moving-world-closer-to-tripling-goal">October report by the International Energy Agency.</a>The US lags China as a clean tech economic power.Trump has been explicit about his plans to repeal and otherwise roll back climate policies from the Biden administration.That included <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/05/trump-inflation-reduction-act-00177493">a pledge</a> just before the election to "rescind all unspent funds" from President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which provided billions in funding for clean tech.<h2 id="d064aeb1-2497-4d9c-b893-7e2c1b98241d">Will China step up? </h2>There are also doubts over how much China is willing to take an international leadership role on climate issues.It's been wary of international agreements to tackle climate change in the past, and last year was accused by European officials of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/china-denies-reports-it-obstructed-g20-climate-discussions-2023-08-02/#:~:text=China%20denies%20reports%20it%20obstructed%20G20%20climate%20discussions%20%7C%20Reuters">obstructing G20 efforts </a>to tackle the climate crisis, Reuters reported. Assuming a leadership role would likely require China to send money to other countries, said Crowther. "The key question for officials in Beijing will now turn to whether China wants to deepen its financial commitments to helping other countries—particularly emerging markets—accelerate their own energy transitions," he said.Crowther said the run up to next year's COP30 summit in Brazil would provide clues of China's intentions. Ultimately, Xi may be more interested in cementing China's economic advantages than in concrete diplomatic pledges. "Although Beijing will try to boost its image as a global leader on climate change, I don't know how much substance will follow," said McElwee.

Trump called the climate crisis a scam. It could prove a gift to China.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>United Arab Emirates, a wealthy petrostate, is hosting this year's UN climate summit. </li><li>Countries will debate cutbacks to burning fossil fuels and climate funding for poorer countries.</li><li>On the first day, countries agreed to some rules for the loss and damage fund.</li></ul>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — There's always one big question heading into the UN's annual climate conference: What would success look like?Several major themes emerged ahead of the two-week event that kicks off today in Dubai, where some 70,000 climate diplomats, nongovernmental organizations, activists, and reporters from around the world are expected to gather. The central tension is whether this year's host — a wealthy petrostate whose largest exports are oil and natural gas — can corral nearly 200 other participating nations toward cutting back on the fossil fuels that are largely driving the climate crisis.The United Arab Emirates appointed Sultan Al Jaber, the head of the state-owned oil company Adnoc, to preside over the summit. He's also the CEO of Masdar, a state-owned renewable-energy company.Climate advocates say that Al Jaber's role as a fossil-fuel executive is a conflict of interest. Documents obtained by the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cop28-host-uae-broker-secret-oil-deals-climate-summit-bbc-2023-11">Centre for Climate Reporting</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67508331">first reported by the BBC</a> suggest those concerns might not be misplaced. The documents list talking points for Emirati officials meeting with other countries ahead of COP28 and include the promotion of oil and gas deals, as well as renewable-energy deals.Al Jaber said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnKMhK-cP8U">during a press conference Wednesday</a> he never saw the talking points or used them in his discussions, characterizing the report as "false" and "incorrect.""Every meeting I have conducted with every government, or any other stakeholder, has always been centered around one thing and one thing only, and that is my COP28 agenda and how we can collectively, for the first time ever, adopt a mindset that is centered around implementation and action to keep 1.5 within reach," Al Jaber said.He was referring to the Paris agreement's goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030, compared with preindustrial levels. Climate scientists say that surpassing this threshold would cause catastrophes, including more extreme wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, and floods. People are already facing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-climate-change-crisis-extreme-weather-is-costing-you-2023-9">the consequences</a> of the climate crisis, with the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/last-three-months-on-earth-were-the-hottest-on-record-2023-9">deadly heat waves this year</a> being just one example.Yet the world isn't doing enough to hold warming to 1.5 degrees; indeed, the planet has already warmed nearly 1.2 degrees Celsius, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2023">according to the UN</a>. Countries need to slash greenhouse-gas emissions by 42% in the coming years to stay on track. This is partly why this year's conference is so important. For the first time, there will be a "global stocktake" — UN speak for a climate report card. We already know countries aren't cutting emissions fast enough, but in Dubai, leaders could agree on how to close the gap.Al Jaber outlined a lot of priorities that would help: tripling renewable-energy capacity, fast-tracking energy efficiency across industries, and a "phasedown" of fossil fuels. He also emphasized the need for wealthy countries to make good on their promises to finance climate action in poorer nations and work out the details of a "loss and damage" fund to help those nations rebuild after climate-fueled disasters.There already was an early win on that front during the opening ceremony on Thursday. Countries agreed to some overarching rules for the loss and damage fund: It will temporarily be run by the World Bank, contributions are voluntary, and the money can come from both the public and private sector.However, the fund doesn't an overarching financial goal. A UN-commissioned <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IHLEG-Finance-for-Climate-Action-1.pdf">report</a> said that based on recent disasters, costs of loss and damage could be as much as $150 billion to $300 billion by 2030. So far, UAE and Germany each have pledged the largest sums — at $100 million.Ani Dasgupta, president and CEO of World Resources Institute, told reporters at the summit, "While inadequate to the scale of what is needed, these early contributions will play a critical role in restoring trust between developed and developing countries as the UN climate talks get underway."The progress follows <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/takeaways-un-climate-summit-loss-damage-fossil-fuels-2022-11">a landmark deal at last year's UN climate meeting </a>in Egypt, where the loss and damage fund was first established after a three-decade push by developing countries. They argued that rich economies like the US and those in Europe should be held accountable for their history producing much of the world's emissions.There's one other development that suggests Dubai could lead to more historic climate action. Earlier this month, the US and China agreed to ramp up renewable energy to displace fossil fuels. As the world's two largest polluters, no other countries have more power to shape climate policy. However, President Joe Biden and China's leader, Xi Jinping, won't be attending the conference.

What to watch at COP28 Dubai, the UN climate summit 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>World leaders are gathering in the UAE for the COP28 climate change summit. </li><li>But President Joe Biden and Xi Jinping of China will be absent.</li></ul>World leaders are gathering today in the United Arab Emirates for the opening of COP28, the world's most important global warming summit.King Charles and Pope Francis are attending alongside delegates from 200 nations.Their core goal will be making better progress toward meeting the Paris 2015 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to limit global warming to 1.5 Celsius a year above pre-industrial levels.But the leaders of the world's biggest polluting nations — President Joe Biden and China's leader Xi Jinping — will be conspicuous by their absence.<div type="image" title="COP28" height="683" width="1024" msid="105660948" hostid="261" sizebytes="26138"></div>The White House on Sunday announced that Biden would not be attending the opening of the summit, and following criticism of the decision announced a last-minute schedule change Wednesday, sending Vice President Kamala Harris in Biden's place.Previously, the most senior US official scheduled to attend had been US climate envoy John Kerry.Biden has attended both of the previous UN climate summits but is facing criticism for his green policies from Republicans, while also facing pressure from younger Democratic voters to take more action to tackle the climate crisis.Instead, of Xi, China will be represented at the summit by China's climate envoy Xie Zhenhua.<h3>Biden and XI pass on the chance to inject momentum into talks</h3>The US and China are the world's biggest economies, together accounting <a target="_blank" href="https://www.climatewatchdata.org/?utm_source=cait.wri.org&amp;utm_medium=redirecthistorical/Country%20GHG%20Emissions">for around 38% of the world's </a>greenhouse emissions.Tom Evans, a policy advisor at think tank E3G, told Business Insider that the decision by the world's most powerful leaders to skip the opening was particularly disappointing given they'd recently found common ground on the climate crisis amid escalating tensions on a range of other issues.At a meeting in November on the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-xi-meeting-china-plan-supplant-us-working-apec-summit-2023-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">fringes of the APEC summit in San Francisco,</a> Xi and Biden agreed to limit methane emissions, and back global efforts to triple renewable energy production by 2030, one of the main goals of COP28."It's a huge shame to not have the leaders of the two biggest emitters here at COP," said Evans, and citing their recent agreement added: "Their attendance could have further cemented that agreement and helped inject momentum into the talks."A key sticking point in the talks is the reluctance of some countries in the developing world to agree to tough cuts in emissions that they say would hamper their economic development.Xi and Biden are doing little to signal their commitment to sharing the burden of reducing the climate crisis equally by not attending the summit, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/27/climate/biden-cop28-climate-dubai.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&amp;referringSource=articleShare">say critics.</a><h3>Controversy over secret oil deals</h3>Before it even began, the COP28 conference was clouded by controversy.The UAE is one of the world's biggest producers of fossil fuels, and the COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber heads the Gulf State's oil company.The BBC and Centre for Climate Reporting earlier in the week, citing briefing documents, reported that the UAE was planning to broker secret fossil fuel deals with nations attending the summit.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cop28-host-uae-broker-secret-oil-deals-climate-summit-bbc-2023-11?r=US&amp;IR=T#:~:text=A%20COP28%20spokesman%20told%20Business,unverified%20documents%20in%20their%20reporting.%22">In a statement to Business Insider, a </a>COP28 spokesman denied that the documents outlining the planned deals had in fact been discussed in meetings.<h3>The Global Stocktake</h3>But despite the controversy, and even in the absence of Biden and Xi, campaigners remain optimistic.Evans said that central to the success of the summit will be the "Global Stocktake," or addressing the gaps in progress toward meeting the Paris 2015 goals such as phasing out fossil fuels and tripling renewables by 2030.Cherelle Blazer, director of international climate and policy at the Sierra Club, told VOA, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.voanews.com/a/cop28-has-big-agenda-but-won-t-have-biden-xi/7372863.html">that the US delegate </a>attending had the authority to push for meaningful progress."The Senate delegation is going to be there. The full US negotiating team will be there. Kerry will be there. So, everyone that needs to be in place for something actionable to happen will be there," she said.

Biden and Xi are glaringly absent from the UN's climate summit. That doesn't bode well for the world.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber held a press conference to defend his support for climate science.</li><li>Al Jaber is under fire again for his comments on fossil fuels and science. </li></ul>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — When the chief executive of an oil company runs a UN climate summit, sparks are bound to fly.Sultan Al Jaber, the president of COP28 being held in Dubai, took center stage at the UN climate summit earlier Monday to defend his support of climate initiatives. Al Jaber, who is also the CEO of the United Arab Emirates state-owned oil company Adnoc, came under fire after controversial comments became public around how "there is no science" or "scenario" saying that phasing out fossil fuels will achieve global climate targets.He made those comments during a live online event on Nov. 21, roughly a week before the UN climate gathering kicked off; they were <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/03/back-into-caves-cop28-president-dismisses-phase-out-of-fossil-fuels">published by the Guardian on Sunday</a>. The comments alarmed climate advocates in Dubai and led Al Jaber to pull together a press conference to defend his "respect for the science" and his record of saying that fossil fuels are on their way out."I have said over and over that the phase down and phase out of fossil fuels is inevitable," Al Jaber told reporters at COP28 on Monday. "This transition is essential. It needs to be orderly, fair, just, responsible, and well-managed. I am quite surprised at the constant and repeated attempts to undermine this message."Before the the conference started, Al Jaber <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cop28-dubai-un-climate-summit-sultan-al-jaber-oil-loss-damage-2023-11">also denied a report</a> that Emirati officials used COP28 meetings with other countries to promote oil and gas deals, as well as renewable energy projects."COP28 President Al Jaber's science-denying statements are alarming and raise deep concerns about the presidency's capacity to lead the UN climate talks, at a time when leadership and a clear vision are most needed," Romain Ioualalen, Oil Change International's global policy lead, said in a statement. "Of course, denying science has been part of the fossil fuel industry's playbook for decades. But science is not up for debate: we must phase out fossil fuels to have a livable planet."The controversies underscore the central debate at the UN climate summit in Dubai. Nearly 200 countries are trying to reach a deal that calls for shifting economies away from fossil fuels, the main cause of the climate crisis. UN scientists warn that countries must make that transition quickly to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2023">cut greenhouse gas emissions by 42% by 2030</a> and avert catastrophic levels of global warming. But they are far off track.Al Jaber says he's on board with a deal of some kind on fossil fuels. But climate advocates are skeptical, in part because Adnoc is planning to invest $150 billion over the next five years on its offshore oil and gas fields.That seems to be inconsistent with a report by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_SYR_SPM.pdf">the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a>, which found that emissions from existing and planned fossil fuel infrastructure are already enough to surpass global climate goals. The Paris Climate agreement calls for limiting global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to preindustral levels. The world has already warmed by 1.2 degrees, the IPCC said, and caused substantial loss and damage from deadly floods, drought, wildfires, and other disasters.A spokesperson for Adnoc told Business Insider that the company is spending some of its $150 billion investment on maintaining its existing oil and gas operations. Adnoc is also investing $15 billion on reducing the carbon intensity of its operations and on low-carbon technologies like hydrogen, geothermal, and renewables.Al Jaber was joined by Jim Skea, chair of the IPCC, during Monday's press conference, who said the COP28 president has been "attentive to the science."Skea said that under a 1.5-degree warming scenario, fossil fuel use is "greatly reduced and unabated coal is completely phased out." Oil is reduced by 60% and natural gas by 45%, he said."Unabated" refers to emissions that are not captured at the smokestack. Carbon capture projects are largely unproven and expensive to develop, which is why many climate advocates see them as a distraction from cheap and available solutions like renewable energy.But oil and gas giants like Adnoc, ExxonMobil, and Chevron are investing billions in carbon capture technology, in part because it could give them license to operate in a greener world.During the online event, Al Jaber argued that a complete phase-out of fossil fuels wouldn't allow sustainable development "unless you want to take the world back into caves."The exchange was with Mary Robinson, the chair of the Elders group and a former UN special envoy for climate change, during an event hosted by the nonprofit She Changes Climate that advocates for greater female representation in climate policy.Robinson said the climate crisis is disproportionately hurting women and children because the world hasn't committed to phase out fossil fuels.

Oil titan Sultan Al Jaber backtracks on comments that 'there is no science' around fossil fuels at UN climate summit

<ul class="summary-list"><li>UAE's state-owned oil company brokered deals to boost fossil fuels at home and overseas in 2023.</li><li>The deals included supplying gas to China and expanding into Egypt and Azerbaijan.</li></ul>Last year, while the United Arab Emirates oversaw a historic agreement to fight the climate crisis, it was brokering deals for oil and gas that could bring the country tens of billions of dollars and boost fossil-fuel production globally.An <a target="_blank" href="https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/fossil-gas/i-hope-the-younger-generations-can-forgive-us-state-oil-company-pushed-100-billion-of-deals-in-uaes-year-as-cop28-host/">analysis by the climate watchdog Global Witness</a> found that the UAE's state-owned oil company, known as ADNOC, closed more than a dozen deals to expand its oil and gas footprint at home and overseas.Among the transactions were ADNOC's first contract to supply gas to China; a joint venture with the oil giant BP in Egypt; and a stake in Azerbaijan's gas field in the Caspian Sea. ADNOC also bought a Dutch fertilizer company and acquired a stake in an Austrian plastics maker, both of which rely on fossil fuels for their products.In November, during the UN climate summit in Dubai, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cop28-host-uae-broker-secret-oil-deals-climate-summit-bbc-2023-11">the BBC and the Center for Climate Reporting</a> reported that UAE planning documents showed that oil, gas, petrochemical, and renewable-energy projects were among the talking points for meetings with countries in the lead-up to the climate summit, COP28. The summit was led by ADNOC's chief executive, Sultan Al Jaber.Global Witness found that ADNOC either pursued or closed fossil-fuel deals with firms in 11 of the 16 countries targeted in the UAE planning documents. These included deals to sell liquefied natural gas to Chinese-owned firms and to expand oil and gas businesses in Egypt and Azerbaijan — two countries that open up the UAE's access to Europe as it seeks non-Russian gas. Global Witness estimated that the overall value of the deals it analyzed was nearly $100 billion, though some haven't been finalized."Make no mistake, COP28 was hijacked by the interests of the fossil fuel industry, who weren't content simply to block or stall genuine climate policy but used the opportunity to pursue more climate-wrecking oil and gas deals," Patrick Galey, a senior investigator at Global Witness, said in a statement.ADNOC did not return a request for comment from Business Insider, but Global Witness presented its findings to the oil giant. A spokesperson told Global Witness that the allegation that ADNOC used COP28 to pursue business deals was "completely baseless and false."The spokesperson argued that COP28 "delivered the biggest climate breakthroughs" since the Paris Agreement in 2015, when world leaders agreed to try to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.<h2 id="ab608433-ab72-4ca8-86e5-40fa507c2070">A historic deal in Dubai</h2>A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle/">panel of hundreds of climate scientists</a> convened by the UN has said that temperature threshold is likely to be crossed within the next decade, pushing the planet toward a catastrophe, unless countries rapidly stop burning fossil fuels. They've said emissions from existing oil, gas, and coal infrastructure are on track to exceed the Paris Agreement goal.So far, the planet has warmed by about 1.1 degrees Celsius, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-climate-change-crisis-extreme-weather-is-costing-you-2023-9">deadly heat waves, wildfires, flooding</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/global-food-crisis-higher-prices-shortages-civil-unrest-2022-8">drought-caused famine</a> are on the rise.At COP28 in Dubai, countries for the first time called for a transition away from fossil fuels this decade and for the tripling of renewable energy by 2030. In a side agreement brokered by the UAE, oil and gas companies accounting for 40% of global production <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cop28-un-climate-conference-oil-and-gas-methane-emissions-satellites-2023-12">promised to nearly eliminate their methane emissions</a> by 2030.But the Dubai deal left the door open to more fossil-fuel production by promoting technology such as carbon capture, which is still in the early stages of development. The deal also said "transitional fuels" could play a role in reducing emissions — a nod to gas, which is less polluting than coal but a major emitter of methane.<a target="_blank" href="https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/uae/">Climate scientists have found</a> that while the UAE is investing in renewable energy, carbon capture, and other low-carbon technologies, that activity is dwarfed by the country's fossil-fuel expansion. The UAE, the seventh-largest oil producer, is investing $150 billion to boost its own oil and gas production through 2027. Global Witness' investigation also sheds light on how the country is securing new markets overseas.Galey said he was concerned that another petrostate, Azerbaijan, which is hosting this year's UN climate summit, could follow the UAE's lead. COP29 is set to be led by Azerbaijan's ecology minister, Mukhtar Babayev, who spent nearly two decades in senior positions at the country's state-owned energy company until leaving in 2018.Azerbaijan is an emerging economy that relies on oil and gas for nearly half of its GDP and more than 92% of its export revenue.COP29 organizers didn't return a request for comment from BI. They told Global Witness that they "reject in the strongest terms the suggestion that Azerbaijan has a hidden agenda" in hosting the climate summit.

The United Arab Emirates pursued nearly $100 billion worth of oil and gas deals the same year it led the global climate summit, analysis finds 

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hamas-attacks-horrors-rape-cant-be-war-tool-sheryl-sandberg-2023-11">Sheryl Sandberg condemned the violence</a> perpetrated against women during Hamas' terrorist attack on October 7 and called on the world to do the same. </li><li>Sandberg was joined by a host of luminaries, including <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/hillary-clinton-pantsuits-gutsy-started-wearing-skirt-photo-2022-9">Hillary Clinton</a> and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, for a UN summit on gender-based violence.</li></ul>Former tech executive and women's advocate <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sheryl-sandberg-former-coo-facebook">Sheryl Sandberg</a> issued a global call to action to end rape as a weapon of war during a a summit on sexual violence at the United Nations Monday — and pleaded for the world not to turn away from the atrocities committed against women by Hamas in the October 7 terror attacks."Silence is complicity, and in the face of terror, we will not be quiet," Sandberg said in a speech at "Hear our Voices: Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the October 7 Hamas Terror Attack," a UN event convened in New York City. "That is why we are all here today. To speak about unspeakable acts."The former <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta">Meta</a> COO added: "This goes beyond politics. If we can't agree that rape is wrong, then we have accepted the unacceptable. Then the question will be, not what is happening in the Middle East, but what is happening to our humanity."The Lean In founder joined a host of luminaries from the worlds of diplomacy, politics, and the arts at Monday's summit, where they called on the public to denounce the gender-based violence that Hamas perpetrated during its surprise attack and hold the terrorist organization accountable for the massacre of civilians.In front of an audience that included actors <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/debra-messing-says-politics-are-part-of-will-and-grace-dna-2018-10">Debra Messing</a> and Julianna Margulies, Sandberg praised the recent progress that the global community had made in recognizing, prosecuting, and reducing wartime rape. In previous conflicts, she said, women's bodies had been considered "the spoils of war."<div type="image" title="Tom Berthal (left), Sheryl Sandberg, Amb. Gilad Erdan and Debra Messing attend the summit on sexual violence against women in wartime at the United Nations on Dec. 4, 2023." height="670" width="1004" msid="105738575" hostid="261"></div>"That is why this moment is so critical," Sandberg said. "We have come so far in establishing that rape is a crime against humanity. And we have come so far in believing survivors of sexual assault in so many situations. That's why the silence on these moral crimes is dangerous. It threatens to undo decades of progress."Hamas' terror attack on Israel left roughly 1,200 people dead, according to Israeli officials. Following the attacks, the Israeli military launched a barrage of airstrikes and a ground incursion into Gaza, killing more than 15,000 Palestinians — the vast majority of them civilians — so far, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry."As a global community, we must respond to weaponized sexual violence, where ever it happens, with absolute condemnation," Hillary Rodham Clinton said in videotaped remarks after she spent Monday at the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai. "There can be no justifications and no excuses. Rape as a weapon of war is a crime against humanity."<div type="image" title="Mourners grieve for Liel Hetzroni , 12-years-old, and her aunt, Ila (Illios) Hetzroni who were killed at kibbutz Be'eri on October 7th by Hamas, during a funeral and farewell-ceremony at Kibbutz Revivim on November 15, 2023 in Revivim, Israel." height="3333" width="5000" msid="105738576" hostid="261"></div>Attendees heard from first responders, police, and military personnel, who described the acts of terrorism that they witnessed on October 7 and in the following days. They recalled encountering scores of female corpses, some whose pants were pulled down, others who had been shot in their genitals or had breasts cut off. They described bodies that were defiled after death and burned beyond recognition, as well as one young girl whose pelvis had been broken.Simcha Greiniman, a volunteer with the nonprofit ZAKA Search and Rescue organization, said he was dispatched to remove some of the bodies in the aftermath of the attacks."I saw in front of my eyes, a woman — she was naked," a visibly shaken Greiniman recalled. "She had nails and different objects in her female organs. Her body was brutal, in a way that we could not identify her. From her head to her toes. She was abused in a way we could not understand and we could not deal with."New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who said she had viewed raw footage from the attack, said she almost choked when she learned that many human rights organizations — including UN Women — failed to immediately condemn Hamas' attack. She said the silence underscores the idea that "their bodies are not worth defending.""The world must do more," Gillibrand said. "It must demand accountability. The United Nations must denounce Hamas as a terrorist organization."UN Women <a target="_blank" href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/statement/2023/12/un-women-statement-on-the-situation-in-israel-and-gaza">issued a statement in December</a> condemning the attacks and expressing alarm at the "numerous accounts of gender-based atrocities and sexual violence during those attacks." <a target="_blank" href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/speech/2023/10/speech-a-call-for-urgent-transformative-action-executive-director-briefing-to-un-security-council-open-debate-on-women-peace-and-security">In a speech</a> three weeks after the violence erupted, UN Women executive director Sima Bahous said that "every act of violence against women and girls, including sexual violence, is unequivocally condemned, irrespective of the nationality, identity, race, or religion of the victims."<div type="image" title="Israel's Ambassador Gilad Erdan addresses the UN Summit on the gender-based violence in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack." height="1036" width="1582" msid="105738577" hostid="261"></div>The summit's host, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan, said that despite the lack of action from the international community, the voices of the murdered Israeli women would still be heard."If the UN chooses to remain silent in the face of evil, that does not mean the world will follow suit," Erdan said. "If the top-down approach is broken, the bottom-up approach will prevail. The world will know the truth. We know the truth and we will make the truth heard."

Sheryl Sandberg, Hillary Clinton, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and others issue a global call to action to denounce sexual violence at UN Summit 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The UAE is hosting the COP28 climate change summit. </li><li>The BBC reported it planned to make secret oil and gas deals. </li></ul>The United Arab Emirates (UAE) planned to broker secret oil and gas deals through its role as the host of the UN climate conference, COP28, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67508331">the BBC reported.</a>According to UAE summit planning documents, obtained by the BBC and the Center for Climate Reporting, officials from the Gulf state drew up a list of talking points on potential new fossil fuels deals with 15 attending nations.Among them, UAE COP28 planning officials intended to discuss <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/gas-lng-shipping-cost-over-200000-daily-tanker-supply-drops-2023-8">liquefied natural gas </a>development projects by UAE state energy firm Adnoc with China, the BBC reported.Officials also reportedly sought Brazilian government backing for UAE investment in a petrochemicals firm, and planned to propose a deal for developing fossil fuels in Colombia.The documents were reportedly drawn up for meetings with the UAE's top COP28 official, Dr. Sultan al-Jaber, and government representatives ahead of the summit. Business Insider was unable to independently verify the documents.A COP28 spokesman told Business Insider that the documents had not been used in meetings.'The documents referred to in the BBC article are inaccurate and were not used by COP28 in meetings," he said. "It is extremely disappointing to see the BBC use unverified documents in their reporting."Dr Jaber is also CEO of the UAE's state oil company, Adnoc, and of Masdar, the state's renewables business.Host nations usually seek to encourage ambitious <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/exxon-acquisition-permian-basin-pioneer-fossil-fuels-energy-transition-2023-10?r=US&amp;IR=T">new global initiatives to cut fossil fuels at the summits.</a>The BBC said it had seen an email exchange in which COP28 staff were told Adnoc and Masdar discussions "always need to be included" in the briefing notes. The COP28 team told the BBC this was "simply untrue."The UAE in a statement to the BBC did not deny that it planned on holding oil and gas deal talks, and said "private meetings are private." It did not say what was discussed in the talks, and said it's committed to "meaningful climate action."Business Insider has contacted the UAE for further comment.Under the rules of the UN body which organizes the summit, host nations are banned from using the discussions for self-interested purposes, or in a way that's biased.Leaders from nearly 200 <a target="_blank" href="https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/cop28s-loss-and-damage-fund-will-be-key-for-africa/719n868">countries are gathering </a>in the UAE on Thursday for the COP28 summit.

The UAE planned to use the global climate summit it's hosting as a chance to strike new oil and gas deals, BBC report says

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/africa-hosting-climate-talks-and-a-ton-fossil-fuel-projects-2022-11">Fossil-fuel</a> interests are fighting for natural gas at the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-crisis-inequality-racial-justice-energy-technology-innovation-2022-11">United Nations'</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/president-joe-biden-climate-crisis-methane-un-cop-egypt-2022-11">COP27</a> climate summit.</li><li>They say <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/russia-lng-natural-gas-exports-record-high-europe-eu-winter-2022-11">natural gas</a> is a transition fuel, cleaner than coal, and can serve as a backup to renewables.</li></ul>SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt – World leaders hashing out critical climate issues at the United Nations' summit in Egypt have company: 636 fossil-fuel lobbyists are among the attendees.The lobbyists' presence worries experts, because their business interests often stand in opposition to the summit's goal of reducing climate change-causing greenhouse gases, while still providing the world with power.The fossil fuel industry has more representatives at the conference than any single nation, except the United Arab Emirates, according to a <a href="https://www.globalwitness.org/en/press-releases/over-100-more-fossil-fuel-lobbyists-last-year-flooding-crucial-cop-climate-talks/">report</a> from Global Witness, and more representatives than the sum of the 10 countries most affected by climate change.Identifying how much power these lobbyists have in negotiations is tricky. One-third of the fossil fuel lobbyists Global Witness identified are registered as part of national delegations, according to Dominic Kavakeb, a spokesperson for Global Witness. That makes it tough to tell whose interests they support. "What we do know is that through national delegations they enjoy privileged access and that they represent an industry that has a financial interest in the continued burning of fossil fuels," Kavakeb told Insider."For a summit on protecting the climate, this is a recipe for disaster," Kavakeb added.Many of those lobbyists are pushing for the expansion of natural gas — a fuel source that increases the methane emissions global leaders pledged to cut at the last climate summit, in Glasgow, Scotland. Fossil fuel influence threatens to undermine progress on one of the most powerful, immediate climate solutions: ending human methane emissions.<div type="image" title="flame shoots over pizza in oven" height="1500" width="2254" msid="95627599" hostid="261" sizebytes="131096"></div>Toby Rice, CEO of EQT, which is the largest natural-gas producer in the US, told Insider he's at this year's conference, COP27, to promote his own climate solution: producing natural gas in the US and exporting it to foreign nations that rely on coal. He argues that natural gas is more reliable, and can be a "backup" or "transition" fuel alongside renewables.On Friday, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/11/gas-producers-using-cop27-to-rebrand-gas-as-transitional-fuel-experts-warn">The Guardian</a> reported on other industry associations making similar claims. It seems to be working, especially as the energy crisis sparked by Russia's war in Ukraine has spiked Europe's appetite for oil and gas from Africa. Over the past two weeks, during COP27, three new natural-gas deals were announced in <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/electric-power/110422-germany-egypt-sign-lng-and-renewable-hydrogen-partnership">Egypt</a>, <a href="https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/africa/457048/nigeria-nnpc-lng-oil/">Nigeria,</a> and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-07/tanzania-to-sign-key-40-billion-lng-project-accords-next-month?leadSource=uverify%20wall&amp;sref=T2pWWwBf">Tanzania</a>.<div type="image" title="African climate activists protest oil and gas expansion" height="2268" width="3023" msid="95627601" hostid="261" sizebytes="455428"></div>Rice calls the expansion of natural gas "the biggest green initiative on the planet." But it could be a gamble, with high risks for the climate.<h2>Natural gas carries the world's most potent greenhouse gas</h2><div type="image" title="gas flare from oil well tower in north dakota hills at sunset" height="1656" width="2208" msid="95627603" hostid="261" sizebytes="256596"></div>Like coal and oil, natural gas is a fossil fuel that emits greenhouse gases when burned, trapping more heat on our planet and accelerating climate change. It's true that natural gas emits less carbon dioxide than coal. But natural gas is mostly methane. Though it is not as long-lived as CO2, methane is better at warming the planet, with about 80 times more heat-trapping potential than CO2 over 20 years. Methane has caused about 30% of global temperature rise so far, according to the <a href="https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/37000/EGR21_MREN.pdf">UN</a>.While methane's consequences are severe, the good news is that countries and industries can quickly slow climate change by cutting methane emissions. Pumping and transporting more natural gas could increase methane emissions. Damage and wear to pipelines and other fuel infrastructure frequently <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/space-imagery-reveals-methane-pouring-from-the-us-russia-daily-2022-2">cause leaks</a>. That's in addition to methane that's intentionally released, or "vented," as part of the natural-gas production process.<div type="image" title="satellite image shows cluster of methane plumes" height="834" width="1556" msid="95627605" hostid="261" sizebytes="205004"></div>It's unknown just how much methane currently leaks from gas operations, because companies often don't report or measure them. The International Energy Association <a href="https://www.iea.org/news/methane-emissions-from-the-energy-sector-are-70-higher-than-official-figures">estimates</a> that methane emissions from the energy industry are 70% higher than reported.<h2>Industry-based climate solutions or fossil fuel influence?</h2>In Europe, oil and gas companies have successfully lobbied against methane-emission regulation for imported fossil fuels, which includes 90% of the European Union's gas consumption, according to <a href="https://methane.influencemap.org/">analysis</a> by the think tank InfluenceMap. In the US, major industry associations historically fought against the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate methane emissions.The analysis found that industry actors used two core arguments against methane regulations: that natural gas is a "low-carbon" energy source and that it's good for energy security.But new rules might be on the horizon in the US. On November 11, the EPA <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-strengthens-proposal-cut-methane-pollution-protect">outlined a proposal</a> for stronger methane-emission regulations, including requiring oil and gas companies to monitor and plug methane leaks. President Joe Biden touted the plan at COP27.<div type="image" title="Demonstrators prepare for a Kick Big Polluters Out protest at the COP27 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)" height="1333" width="1777" msid="95627606" hostid="261" sizebytes="202248"></div>The American Petroleum Institute, which represents the oil and gas industry, <a href="https://www.api.org/news-policy-and-issues/news/2022/11/11/api-statement-on-epa-supplemental-proposed-methane-rule">said in a statement</a> that it looked forward to reviewing the proposed rule, adding that it plans to support "a final rule that is cost-effective, promotes innovation, and creates the regulatory certainty needed for long-term planning."Rice said that EQT plans to plug its leaks and cut its methane emissions by 90% within 24 months. Replacing leaky gas infrastructure would cut the company's CO2-equivalent footprint by a little more than half, according to Rice. Then the company plans to get to net zero by buying "land-based carbon offsets." Typically, that means giving money to companies that plant forests.But many researchers argue that's not an effective alternative to eliminating greenhouse-gas emissions because forests only store carbon over hundreds or thousands of years — not on the hundreds-of-thousands-of-years timescale that the gas, oil, and coal were storing carbon before companies burned it.Rice took a different tack. "We have to address people's concerns with the emissions that are associated with the production of our product, and instead focus the conversation on: What is the emissions reductions when people use our products?" he said.While industry leaders say their products are part of a solution to the climate crisis, climate groups are more critical.As Kavakeb put it, "Like tobacco lobbyists at a health convention or arms dealers at a peace summit, fossil fuel lobbyists have no place at COP — or any other event that wishes to be taken seriously in the fight against climate change."

Fossil-fuel companies have more people at the UN's climate summit than the 10 countries most affected by climate change do combined

<ul class="summary-list"><li>105 world leaders agreed to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030 at the <keyword id="12256444" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="un-climate" source="Orion">UN climate</keyword> summit.</li><li>US special <keyword id="12002886" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="climate" source="Orion">climate</keyword> envoy <keyword id="12467460" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="john-kerry" source="Orion">John Kerry</keyword> said countries will be held to their pledge through "peer pressure."</li></ul>A number of world leaders gathered in Scotland this past weekend to discuss strategies to fight the <keyword id="11896310" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="climate-crisis" source="Orion">climate crisis</keyword> and agreed to cut methane emissions significantly - a key step in reducing global warming.US special climate envoy John Kerry knows the key to ensuring those world leaders honor their promise to reduce powerful gas emissions."We have incredible accountability through satellite measurements," Kerry <a href="https://www.axios.com/john-kerry-cop26-climate-change-optimism-6a9e3e37-5eb9-47d8-a179-a08034b2cce0.html?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=editorial&amp;utm_content=energy-environment-cop26onment-cop26">told</a> Axios reporters in Glasgow. "And in most of this, it's peer pressure and public scrutiny and humiliation and other things that act as incentives."On Tuesday, 105 world leaders signed a Global Methane Pledge that would cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030. Kerry said on Tuesday that methane is "20 to 80 times more destructive" than carbon dioxide, and on the same day, President Joe <keyword id="60973" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="biden" source="Orion">Biden</keyword> <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/11/02/fact-sheet-president-biden-tackles-methane-emissions-spurs-innovations-and-supports-sustainable-agriculture-to-build-a-clean-energy-economy-and-create-jobs/">unveiled</a> the plan for the US to honor its pledge in reducing those emissions."It's going to improve health, reduce asthma, respiratory-related emergencies," Biden said during <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/11/02/remarks-by-president-biden-at-an-event-highlighting-the-progress-of-the-global-methane-pledge/">remarks</a> on Tuesday. "It's going to improve the food supply as well by cutting crop losses and related ground-level pollution. And it's going to boost our economies, saving companies money, reducing methane leaks, capturing methane to turn it into new revenue streams, as well as creating good-paying union jobs for our workers."This is the first <keyword id="12467461" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="climate-summit" source="Orion">climate summit</keyword> the US has taken part of since President Donald Trump's term, and Biden had <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-crisis-joe-biden-manchin-plans-reconciliation-democrats-retirement-2021-10">previously expressed</a> the need to show the country's commitment to fighting the climate crisis on the world stage."The prestige of the United States is on the line," Biden <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/21/politics/climate-change-agenda-biden-administration-glasgow/index.html?utm_content=2021-10-21T13%3A02%3A03&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twCNNp&amp;utm_term=linktm_term=link">told</a> a group of progressive lawmakers last month, according to California Rep. Ro Khanna. "I need this to go represent the United States overseas. I need people to see that the Democratic Party is working, that the country is working, that we can govern."Just before leaving for Glasgow, Biden <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-strikes-deal-with-manchin-sinema-cuts-social-benefits-plan-2021-10">unveiled</a> his $1.75 trillion social-spending proposal, including <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-climate-plan-biggest-investment-reconciliation-glasgow-summit-2021-10">$555 billion for the climate</a> - the largest investment in the proposal - that he was able to tout to world leaders. The framework is not final, though, and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin has yet to sign off on the plan, and the climate proposals within it.Manchin opposed the inclusion of the Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP) in Democrats' original $3.5 trillion proposal, which would have allowed for Biden to reach his goal to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030.As the United Nations has made clear, these investments cannot wait. World leaders set a goal to keep global warming from exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, but a recent UN report <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/united-nations-climate-crisis-global-goals-utterly-failing-2021-10">found</a> that unless action is taken quickly, temperatures could rise to about 2.7 degrees Celsius by then. This prompted UN Secretary-General António Guterres to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/united-nations-climate-crisis-global-goals-utterly-failing-2021-10">call out countries</a> for "utterly failing" to meet climate goals, saying world leaders needed to work to avoid a "climate catastrophe."

John Kerry says 'peer pressure' and 'humiliation' are key to holding countries accountable for climate pledges

<ul class="summary-list"><li>More than 30,000 people attending the UN's climate summit are hearing about the need for action.</li><li>Yet much of the activity in Africa is from big energy and big banks developing fossil-fuel projects.</li></ul>SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt – Each day, the more than 30,000 people attending the United Nations' climate summit in Egypt hear about the need to curb greenhouse-gas emissions. Yet across Africa, where people who did almost nothing to worsen the global climate crisis are especially vulnerable to its fallout, it's a fossil-fuel bonanza.In the past two weeks — essentially the time of the COP27 summit — three oil-and-gas deals were announced for Africa alone, in <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/electric-power/110422-germany-egypt-sign-lng-and-renewable-hydrogen-partnership">Egypt</a>, <a href="https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/africa/457048/nigeria-nnpc-lng-oil/">Nigeria,</a> and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-07/tanzania-to-sign-key-40-billion-lng-project-accords-next-month?leadSource=uverify%20wall&amp;sref=T2pWWwBf">Tanzania</a>.For years, large oil-and-gas companies and the financial institutions that bankroll them have spent billions to develop new reserves and infrastructure across the continent, <a href="https://dont-gas-africa.org/cop27-report?_hsmi=233681314&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_EBS9yLBZl6i_3mIpiz5rWH_DZn8OizOrLC0UubWk5oBrpdsL7DMWag6cnAXz8F0JhYqMJyjjUyy_t4LKf7hrt9sAyiQ&amp;utm_content=233681314">according to analyses</a> <a href="https://www.urgewald.org/en/shop/who-financing-fossil-fuel-expansion-africa">by civil-society groups</a>. A global energy crisis sparked by Russia's war in Ukraine has created more appetite in Europe for African oil and gas. That demand is evident even in announcements that purportedly support renewable energy. The US and Germany, for example, pledged at COP27 to spend more than $250 million financing Egypt's transition to clean energy. But, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/11/11/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-new-initiatives-at-cop27-to-strengthen-u-s-leadership-in-tackling-climate-change/">the White House said</a>, the move could "free up" gas, likely for export to Europe. Huge demand for fossil-fuel production is galvanizing activists from Uganda and Tanzania to Mozambique and South Africa, which last week led one of the only protests inside the COP27 conference area to demand a renewable-energy transition instead. "All projects coming to the continent are for exploitation. It's very colonial," Omar Elmawi, the executive director of the Kenya-based Muslims for Human Rights, told Insider. "Despite Africa's renewable-energy potential, we're not seeing investors or banks look at it as an opportunity. Africa is becoming a petrol station that feeds the interests of the 'global north.'"Elmawi and his fellow campaigners are up against officials from some African nations and the fossil-fuel industry, who argue the continent should be able to use gas as a transition fuel to expand electricity access <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/africa-energy-outlook-2022/key-findings">to the 600 million Africans</a> who lack it and to industrialize their economies just as Europe and the US did. The interests of the fossil-fuel industry are well represented at the UN summit, where some 636 registrants <a href="https://www.globalwitness.org/en/press-releases/over-100-more-fossil-fuel-lobbyists-last-year-flooding-crucial-cop-climate-talks/">are either directly affiliated with oil-and-gas giants</a> or attending as part of delegations that act on behalf of the fossil-fuel industry, according to Global Witness, an environmental watchdog group. That figure is a 25% increase over last year's meeting in Glasgow, Scotland. Dozens of oil-and-gas companies — the majority of which are foreign — are searching for new reserves in 45 African countries, including areas in Egypt's Red Sea region where the UN talks are underway.In September, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi <a href="https://energycapitalpower.com/eni-egypt-gas-lng-exports-renewables/">met with the CEO of the Italian oil giant Eni</a> to discuss boosting Egypt's natural gas production to export to Europe. Eni was also key to the 2015 <a href="https://www.eni.com/en-IT/operations/egypt-zohr.html#:~:text=Zohr%20is%20located%20within%20the,is%20responsible%20for%20operations%20there.">discovery and ensuing development</a> of the Zohr gas field off Egypt's Mediterranean coast that is now producing the equivalent of 706 million barrels of oil each day.Africa is the "cornerstone" of Eni's business model, <a href="https://www.eni.com/en-IT/eni-worldwide/africa.html">its website states</a>. The company is the third-largest developer of new oil-and-gas production on the continent behind France's TotalEnergies and Algeria's state-owned company, Sonatrach, <a href="https://www.urgewald.org/en/shop/who-financing-fossil-fuel-expansion-africa">according to an analysis by Urgewald</a>, an environmental and human-rights nonprofit, and 46 other civil-society groups, the majority of which are based in Africa.TotalEnergies also has a stake in the controversial East African crude oil pipeline that would run from Uganda to Tanzania; the European Union has called for the plan to be halted. Some 42 financial institutions have also declined to back the project, <a href="https://www.stopeacop.net/banks-checklist">including Citi and JPMorgan Chase</a>. Still, those two banks were among the top financiers of other new fossil-fuel development in Africa since January 2019, the Urgewald analysis estimated. Some 352 banks have provided $98 billion in loans and underwriting during that period. <a href="https://www.iea.org/news/pathway-to-critical-and-formidable-goal-of-net-zero-emissions-by-2050-is-narrow-but-brings-huge-benefits">The International Energy Agency last year</a> said there should be no new oil-and-gas development. The world has already warmed about 1.2 degrees Celsius since preindustrial times and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-crisis-chaos-un-secretary-general-egypt-cop27-2022-11">is on a 2.4 degree trajectory</a>, according to the UN.A spokesperson for JPMorgan said via email that over the next 10 years, the bank plans to spend $1 trillion on green initiatives, including renewable energy and clean transportation has already spent $100 billion. The bank is taking "pragmatic steps" <a href="https://www.jpmorganchase.com/impact/sustainability/es-commitments#paris-aligned">to cut what it describes as the "emissions intensity" of its oil-and gas-portfolio</a> while helping the world meet its energy needs "securely and affordably." Emissions intensity refers to the greenhouse gases emitted for every unit of output. A TotalEnergies spokesperson said in an email that the company plans to be a "major player" in renewable energy in Uganda and that the country is following a path it chose. "To stop Uganda from exploiting its natural resources in order to develop as a country on the grounds that we, as Europeans, have over-polluted or are over-polluting could be regarded as paternalistic, cynical, and selfish to the say least," the spokesperson said.A Citi spokesperson said in a statement that the company's net-zero plan calls for a balanced approach. "Citi believes that an orderly, responsible, and equitable transition, which accounts for the immediate economic needs of communities, workers, environmental justice, and broader economic development concerns, is essential to the retention of political and social support to move to a low-carbon economy."Representatives from Eni didn't respond to a request for comment.Wael Aboulmagd, an Egyptian ambassador and the special representative to the COP27 president, said there is no "one-size-fits-all" approach for the energy transition. "No one will challenge the need to move away from fossil fuels, but the expectations for a country that's built wealth after decades of using fossil fuels should differ" from an impoverished island or African country, he said. It will also differ between Egypt, where nearly all of the population has access to energy, and other countries, where fewer than 20% of people do.Rich economies like those of the US and Europe Union <a href="https://www.cgdev.org/media/who-caused-climate-change-historically">are responsible for 80% of emissions</a> since the dawn of the industrial age, although China more recently has risen to be the world's top polluter. Meanwhile, the entire African continent has contributed just 3% of emissions.Elmawi said fossil fuels aren't the answer to energy poverty in Africa, especially if much of what is produced is destined for Europe. Plus, the projects are more expensive than building out renewable energy like solar.He <a href="https://www.iea.org/news/global-energy-crisis-shows-urgency-of-accelerating-investment-in-cheaper-and-cleaner-energy-in-africa">cited an IEA report that estimated</a> all Africans could access affordable energy with about $25 billion in annual investment through 2030, with the majority flowing to renewables and some natural gas. That is the same amount needed to build just one liquefied natural gas terminal used to import and export the fuel."If we really want to improve the lives of people, we need to invest in community renewable energy," Elmawi said.This story was originally published on November 16, 2022.

Africa is hosting the UN climate summit. It's also home to 3 oil-and-gas deals announced in just two weeks.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Fifty oil and gas companies pledged to zero out methane emissions by 2030 at the UN climate summit.</li><li>Satellites are being deployed to track whether these companies actually meet their promises.</li></ul>Catherine Boudreau reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Erin Snodgrass reported from Los Angeles.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/satellites-locate-source-of-methane-leaks-to-fight-climate-crisis-2022-7">Satellites are the next tool</a> that will hold oil and gas companies accountable in their promise to cut methane emissions and slow global warming.The United Arab Emirates, host of this year's UN climate summit COP28, on Saturday announced that dozens of oil and gas companies — accounting for 40% of global production — aim to nearly eliminate their methane emissions by 2030. Many state-owned oil companies signed on, including the UAE's Adnoc, as well as Saudi Arabia's Saudi Aramco. US firms ExxonMobil and Shell, and other international oil majors will also participate.Shortly after, a separate initiative was announced that will use satellites to track whether the companies keep their promise. The billionaire businessman and philanthropist Michael Bloomberg pledged $40 million to the initiative — a partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund that will launch its own satellite early next year."Oil and gas companies often don't have the data on these methane emissions, including where leaks are happening," Bloomberg, UN special envoy for climate ambition and solutions, told reporters in Dubai. "Even when data is available, there often aren't rules and incentives in place to make sure companies do something about it."Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide, though it only lingers in the atmosphere for about a decade compared with centuries for carbon dioxide. That short lifespan is why climate scientists say eliminating methane emissions is one of the quickest ways to slow global warming.The oil and gas industry <a target="_blank" href="https://www.iea.org/reports/global-methane-tracker-2023">is responsible for 40% of human-caused methane emissions</a> from leaking wells, compression stations, and pipelines, as well as by routinely burning off excess gas in a practice known as venting and flaring.Even though numerous countries and oil and gas companies have pledged to slash methane emissions in recent years, they are still rising to record levels, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.iea.org/reports/global-methane-tracker-2023/overview">according to the IEA</a>. The agency, <a target="_blank" href="https://salatainstitute.harvard.edu/quantifying-methane-to-the-sky-and-beyond/#:~:text=Compelled%20by%20Sargent%20and%20Budney's,U.S.%20Environmental%20Protection%20Agency's%20inventories.">university scientists</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.edf.org/climate/methane-studies#:~:text=Extensive%20research%20led%20by%20EDF,than%20the%20government's%20estimate%20suggests.">environmental groups</a> have published research showing that national governments are significantly undercounting total emissions.Historically, measuring methane was challenging because the gas is colorless, leaks are unpredictable, and finding them involved expensive field studies with aircraft and handheld infrared cameras. That approach only offered a snapshot in time and the research took a long time to publish.Those methods have changed over the last decade. A new generation of satellites can now pinpoint methane leaks almost anywhere and, within days, computers equipped with AI models can calculate the amount of emissions escaping. This, in turn, means oil and gas companies responsible for the plumes can be notified faster and potentially take action.The UN last year launched its own methane alert and response system that uses satellites to monitor emissions and notify countries and companies. Since then, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/uns-global-methane-tracking-system-set-translate-data-revolution">1,500 methane plumes were identified</a> and some governments took action, including Argentina.The 50 oil and gas companies that signed a "decarbonization charter" on Saturday in Dubai agreed to eliminate routine flaring, improve the way they monitor methane leaks, and report progress on reducing emissions.COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber, who also heads Adnoc, during a speech on Saturday said that tackling methane emissions are "a quick and easy win." Adnoc earlier this year already promised to zero-out the pollutant by 2030, even as it plans to expand oil production.<div type="image" title="COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber walks through the venue ahead of the UN Climate Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates." height="5760" width="8640" msid="105684000" hostid="261" sizebytes="420292"></div>"If companies deliver, we calculate it means reducing methane emission by 80% to 90%, which is critical," EDF President Fred Krupp told reporters. "But that only happens if there's accountability."The satellite being launched by EDF, known as MethaneSAT, can regularly monitor methane emissions from regions accounting for much of the world's oil and gas production. That includes emerging and developing economies, where state-owned oil companies have been largely absent from methane pledges until now.The data gathered by satellites can also help climate advocates push governments to implement tougher methane laws. EDF and Bloomberg Philanthropies are working with the IEA, UN, and the climate nonprofit RMI on its accountability push.<h2>The EPA's 'super emitter' program</h2>The US and European Union are already cracking down on methane emissions. The US Environmental Protection Agency <a target="_blank" href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-finalizes-standards-slash-methane-pollution-combat-climate#:~:text=EPA's%20final%20rule%20leverages%20the,the%20power%20sector%20in%202021.">on Saturday finalized regulations</a> that will reduce an estimated 58 million tons of methane emissions over the next 15 years. That figure is comparable to the emissions released by the entire US power sector in 2021, the agency said. The rules require companies to monitor leaks, limit flaring at oil wells, and reduce emissions from equipment like pumps and storage tanks.A "super emitter" program will allow certain third parties that detect large methane plumes to submit data to EPA, which will do its own verification before notifying the oil and gas company responsible.The methane that will be captured, rather than released into the atmosphere, would be enough to heat 7.8 millions homes this winter, EPA officials said during a press conference Friday. Once fully implemented, the rule will prevent the emissions of the equivalent of 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, they said.The EU in November agreed to its first-ever law directing fossil fuel companies to measure and report their methane emissions, and bans most flaring and venting by 2027.The US and EU are part of the Global Methane Pledge that calls for a 30% reduction in methane emissions by 2030. At least 155 countries have signed the pledge, which launched in 2021 at the UN climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.However, China and Russia — the top two producers of methane emissions in the world — aren't signatories. China in November <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-unveils-action-plan-reduce-methane-emissions-2023-11-07/">published its own plan to reduce the pollutant</a>, but it doesn't include any hard targets. The country's state-owned oil companies are also absent from the "decabonization charter" announced in Dubai.Melanie Robinson, global climate program director at the World Resources Institute, said in a statement that the methane commitments were encouraging but require strong measures to hold oil and gas companies accountable.She added that the oil and gas sector still isn't being held accountable for all the emissions created by the fuel they sell to other industries. That's akin to a cigarette maker "claiming no responsibility for the impact of their product once it leaves the factory door," Robinson said, adding that voluntary promises alone won't acheive global climate goals.

You Searched For "UN climate summit" and got 11 results

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