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CONGRESSIONAL COP28 ATTENDEES: Lawmakers are preparing to head to the COP28 summit in Dubai in two separate congressional delegations — though each will bring very different messages on climate and the role they see the U.S. playing in energy production and renewables.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers will lead a CODEL to the climate summit, as Breanne reported earlier this month. House Republicans will play up the importance of building a strong energy mix and using an “all of the above” approach to reduce emissions.
Who’s going: On the House side, Rodgers will be joined by Reps. Bill Johnson, who leads the Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials subcommittee; Jeff Duncan, who heads up the Energy, Climate, and Grid Security subcommittee; and the Energy and Commerce committee’s vice chair, Kelly Armstrong.
Rep. John Curtis, who leads the Conservative Climate Caucus, will also be attending, along with Democratic Rep. Scott Peters of California and others.
Why it matters: The number of Republicans heading to COP28 has ballooned in recent years, indicating their growing desire to carve out a space in the conversation around combating climate change —even if their messaging contrasts with the Democrats heading to the conference.
“I think it’s a loud message that Republicans and Democrats are engaging thoughtfully— yes, we do have differences— but we’re thoughtful in a dialogue and a debate about how to reduce emissions,” Curtis said.
Across the Capitol: Senators will also be leading their own delegation to COP28. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin of Maryland will lead the group, which so far includes Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Tom Carper, EPW subcommittee chairman Ed Markey, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Sen. Chris Coons, and Sen. Brian Schatz, who leads the chamber’s Special Committee on the Climate Crisis.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is also attending, making her the only Republican so far to join that CODEL.
“Coming from an oil-producing state, it’s always helpful to compare notes,” Murkowski said in a brief interview. When asked how she felt about the climate conference being held in an oil-dependent nation, she was enthusiastic, arguing that this would give the UAE a chance to break the mold on any preconceived notions.
The Democratic senators will be focused on touting the U.S.’s latest efforts to bring down emissions – which includes passing the party’s sweeping climate legislation last year – and loudly ringing the warning bell on the dangers of embracing fossil fuels.
“I’m going to have two messages: One is that we did a big thing and everybody else should do it,” Schatz told Nancy in a brief interview. “And the other is, be very, very wary of the fossil fuel bear hug.”
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NO DELAY IN OPEC MEETING EXPECTED: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies are continuing to hold talks on 2024 oil policy, with no delay currently expected for a meeting scheduled on Thursday, according to reporting from Reuters.
On Tuesday, sources had told the outlet that a further delay to OPEC+’s meeting was possible, amid tough talks where countries continued to maintain their stances.
The meeting had already been delayed from Nov. 26 over a disagreement over output quotas for African producers, although sources have said that the group had largely resolved this point of contention since then.
The talks on African quotas come against a backdrop of the United Arab Emirates being allowed to raise output in 2024, according to OPEC+’s agreement in June. The agreement would extend existing oil output cuts into 2024 and allow the increase for the UAE because of its efforts to expand production capacity.
Saudi Arabia, Russia, and other members of OPEC+ have already pledged total oil output cuts of 5 million barrels per day – which is roughly 5% of global demand – in a series of steps that started in late 2022. Read more on that here.
MERKLEY RENEWS CALL TO REIN IN LNG EXPORTS: Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon criticized U.S. LNG exports yesterday, voicing his strong opposition to the construction of additional LNG export facilities to help supply the EU as both Europe and the U.S. look to deliver on their emissions reduction targets.
Merkley said that exporting gas, even though it helped Europe avoid an energy disaster last year, is a “lose-lose” situation that risks significantly worsening climate change.
While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upended the global commodities market, he said, the U.S. should bear in mind how long the EU will need additional LNG exports from the U.S.—especially as it looks to meet its own climate goals.
The question is therefore, “Does Europe need this forever?” he asked, speaking at an event last night hosted by Canary Media. “And the answer is no.”
“Europe is trying to dramatically reduce their reliance on fossil gas because they know, as we know … that we can’t possibly reduce the impact on climate if we’re continuing to use fossil fuels,” Merkley said. “So we have to phase them out.”
He also criticized the way that DOE and FERC currently assess the environmental effects of LNG, accusing them of essentially using a “rubber stamp” to broadly approve new projects and export terminals.
“In the worst case, it’s about twice as bad or more than twice as bad as locally produced coal,” Merkley said of the LNG facilities and planned export terminals.
“We like to pretend that this is somehow better for the world and that we’re some kind of stellar example, when it’s false,” Merkley said. “We can’t afford, with an issue of this magnitude, to be trotting out falsehoods to make ourselves look good.” Read more from the event here.
AL JABER DENIES BBC REPORT CLAIMS: The head of the United Nations’ global climate change summit has strongly denied using his position to advance the UAE’s commercial interests, Bloomberg reports.
In a meeting with journalists ahead of the climate conference, COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber denied reports alleging that he’s seeking to advance oil and gas deals during climate meetings with foreign governments, stating that they are “false, not true, incorrect, and not accurate.”
Earlier this week, the BBC, in collaboration with the Center for Climate Reporting, released a tranche of internal records leaked by a whistleblower. They included more than 150 pages of briefings for meetings held by Al Jaber between July and October.
Oil and gas commercial interests appeared as talking points within the documents, with at least one instance of a nation following up on discussions brought up during the meeting with Al Jaber. The documents included briefing points related to Masdar, the renewable energy company Al Jaber chairs.
On Wednesday, Al Jaber said the report was “an attempt to undermine the work of the COP28 presidency.”
“I promise you never ever did I see these talking points that they referred to or that I ever used such talking points in my discussions,” he said in response to a question. He stated that all of his meetings have been focused on climate goals.
“Sometimes I am told you need to engage with governments and oil and gas companies to put pressure, and sometimes I’m told ‘you can’t do that’ — I’m damned if we do and damned if we don’t,” he said. Read more here.
EXXONMOBIL JOINS U.N. METHANE EMISSIONS REPORTING GROUP: ExxonMobil has agreed to join the U.N.’s methane emissions reporting program – a complete U-turn to previous resistance efforts to third-party monitoring.
In an interview with the Financial Times, the biggest western oil producer stated that advances in its technology would allow it to join the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership, a standardized reporting framework that monitors industry emissions of the potent greenhouse gas.
The oil major had previously urged shareholders durings its annual meeting in May to vote against a resolution to have the company join the program, arguing that it would be “duplicative” and “unnecessary.”
“Now seems like the right time,” said Vijay Swarup, Exxon’s director of technology. “What has happened over the last couple of years is the technology has evolved.”
The OGMP was established in 2014 as a protocol enabling companies to systematically measure, manage, and report methane emissions. Most big western oil groups are members of the partnership. Exxon’s decision to join leaves Chevron as the only western oil major to not be a part of the coalition.
Several big players in the U.S. shale patch, including ConocoPhillips, Devon Energy, and Pioneer Natural Resources (which Exxon agreed to buy last month for $60 billion), joined the program in 2022. Exxon insisted that the Pioneer deal did not influence its decision to join the OGMP. More on that here.
The Rundown
E&E News Anti-ESG claim faces first legal test in New York
Washington Post The UAE has big plans for a ‘success story’ at the COP28 climate talks
Associated Press New Google geothermal electricity project could be a milestone for clean energy
