COP28 ‘moment of truth’ for oil industry, says energy boss he said the sector must choose between contributing to the climate crisis or “becoming part of the solution”.

The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, was speaking as the IEA published a report on fossil fuels’ future.

Only 1% of global renewable energy investment was made by fossil fuel companies last year.

It is no coincidence that the report was released just a week before the UN climate summit, also known as COP28. As part of its efforts to get an agreement on reducing fossil fuel consumption, the IEA will pressure governments at the conference.

The uncomfortable truth that the industry needs to come to terms with is that successful clean energy transitions require much lower demand for oil and gas, which means scaling back oil and gas operations over time – not expanding them.

In addition, this year’s conference is controversial because it is being hosted by a major oil producer.

A technology called carbon capture and storage is being criticized for being prioritized by the man who will chair the COP28 climate talks, Sultan Al Jaber of the United Arab Emirates.

Using carbon capture, most of the CO2 produced by burning fossil fuels in power stations is prevented from entering the atmosphere. It is either re-used or stored underground. However, it is still in its infancy and is expensive.

According to critics, fossil fuel producers hope to continue using oil and gas with the help of this technology

According to Dr Birol, achieving the world’s climate goals requires letting go of the illusion that large amounts of carbon capture are the answer.

In addition, the amount of electricity needed to power these technologies would be greater than the world’s total electricity demand today.