International climate policy experts , hailing from the “Global South” have denounced the ‘hypocrisy’ of some developed countries for their continued expansion of fossil fuel production despite lofty promises to combat climate change and have asked them to come clean to the COP28 in Dubai and demonstrate genuine leadership.

The new report titled ‘Planet Wreckers: How 20 Countries “Oil and Gas Extraction Plans Risk Locking in Climate Chaos” has exposed the staggering scale of the matter, revealing that in some cases, such as the United States, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates, planned expansion projects would cause countries oil and gas extraction to increase to 2030 or beyond, even as the science shows global oil and gas production must begin rapidly declining in the 2020s. In other cases, such as the United Kingdom and Norway, new fields and licenses are not expected to increase overall production but would slow or stall a more rapid phase-out of production that is required for a rapid and equitable global transition.

The report reveals the fact that  these rich nations must halt expansion immediately, prioritize production phase-outs and contribute fairly to global energy transition funding. Failure to do so could result in 173 billion tonnes of carbon pollution, equivalent to over 1,100 new coal plants’ lifetime emissions or more than 30 years of US annual carbon output, being released.

The report underscores the stark contrast between rhetoric and action. Developed countries, often proclaiming themselves as climate leaders, fall short when it comes to meaningful efforts to phase out fossil fuels. Instead, they persist in expanding drilling operations and lecturing the developing world about reducing coal and fossil fuel subsidies.

It is time for the developed world and explicitly for those countries who enriched themselves by extracting and selling fossil fuels to abandon duplicity and demonstrate genuine leadership.

The case of the UAE, this year’s COP28 host, is shocking. ADNOC Drilling, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), in one week only has significantly expanded its operations and fleet. Last week, ADNOC, who is managed by none other than Sultan Al Jaber the designated president of COP28, added three high-spec jack-up rigs to its fleet, becoming the world’s largest operator of jack-up drills.

These countries must come clean to COP28 and announce that they will stop the expansion of fossil fuels immediately, phase out existing production, and pay their fair share to the Green Climate Fund to support the transition in developing countries and to the soon-to-be-set-up Loss and Damage Fund.

Written by Eagle

The original report: