Australian mining magnate and climate advocate Andrew Forrest has launched a scathing tirade against oil and gas industry leaders, saying their heads should be “put on spikes.”
Mr. Forrest’s strong comments coincide with his worries about the involvement of fossil fuel leaders in tackling climate change.
During the first week of COP28, starting from Nov. 30, there were many appeals to decrease the use of fossil fuels, and while some leaders supported a complete ban on coal, oil, and gas, others were against this suggestion.
Mr. Forrest labelled leaders who opposed a phase-out of fossil fuels as “selfish beyond belief.”
He said their actions put millions of people in underdeveloped countries at risk of “lethal humidity” or an inability to cool themselves down.
“If you can’t cool yourself, you’re an oven burning around 100 watts all the time,” he said.
“If you can’t get rid of that heat energy, you cook,” he added, noting deaths already happen.
He said when deaths start to occur at a much larger scale, “so-called people who are very smart” should be held to account.
Nevertheless, a draft of the final COP agreement hints at a planned and fair phasing out of fossil fuels, but the specifics will not be known until next week.
Mr. Forest said if the final wording of the COP summit did not lean toward phasing out fossil fuels, it was “basically a flop.”
Mr. Bowen Dodges Query on Australia’s ‘Phase-Out’ of Coal
It comes as federal Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen arrived in Dubai to lead Australia’s talks at COP28.However, regarding the final COP agreement, Mr Bowen avoided directly answering whether Australia was “comfortable with the words ‘phase-out?’”
“The Albanese government joins over 100 countries, alongside other major energy exporters the United States, Canada, Norway, and more, to support a key push on renewables and energy efficiency,” Mr. Bowen said.
He noted renewables were the cleanest and cheapest form of energy—and that energy efficiency could also help drive down bills and emissions.“That’s why the Albanese government is supporting the UAE’s signature initiative to triple global renewable energy generation capacity, and double global average annual energy efficiency improvements by 2030.”
Climate Council Researcher Stresses Importance of Phasing Out Fossil Fuels
Still, Climate Council Senior Researcher Dr. Wesley Morgan said the measure of Australia’s success at COP28 would be its support for an orderly and just phase-out of coal, oil, and gas.Further, he said Australia must also do its part to contribute to a new international fund set up to address ongoing climate losses and damage, which was secured with a hard-fought win by Pacific Island countries.
If they all proceed, the 116 new projects will result in annual emissions of 1.4 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent (CO2-e)—the equivalent of operating 215 coal power stations.
“Signatories to the Charter have committed to net zero operations by or before 2050, ending routine flaring by 2030, and near-zero upstream methane emissions.”
She said the signatories also agreed to follow best practices and take critical actions in areas like reducing emissions, investing in renewables and low-carbon fuels, and improving transparency in measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions.About 50 global oil and gas companies signed the Charter, but Woodside is the only Australian signatory.
