‘Heads on Spikes’: Billionaire Lambasts Oil and Gas Industry Leaders

This outspoken condemnation comes at a critical juncture in the global conversation on climate change at COP28.

Andrew Forrest, Chairman, Minderoo Foundation speaks at The 2017 Concordia Annual Summit at Grand Hyatt New York on September 19, 2017 in New York City. Riccardo Savi/Getty Images for Concordia Summit

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.

“It’s their heads which should be put up on spikes because they wilfully ignored [climate change] and they didn’t care,” he said at this year’s United Nations COP28 in the United Arab Emirates.

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.”

“Phasing out fossil fuels is the only way out [of the climate crisis],” he added.

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?’”

“We certainly support stronger language and efforts to mitigate climate change,” was his response on ABC AM.

Australia and 100 other nations made progress on the climate change deal, pledging to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030, and committed to stopping the use of international aid funding for projects causing climate damage.

“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.

“The world’s reliance on coal, oil, and gas is polluting our atmosphere and overheating the planet. The impacts are all around us, with 2023 now certain to be the hottest year ever recorded. Every new coal, oil, or gas development further endangers us all. This is why all countries, including Australia, need to commit to a phase out of fossil fuels like coal and gas,” he said.

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.

“With other nations—including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and Germany—already contributing to the fund, Australia must also do its part. We need to support our Pacific neighbours by actively contributing to this global fund and recognising our responsibilities as a major fossil fuel producer,” said Dr Morgan.

About 116 new coal and gas projects will begin production in Australia before 2030, according to the latest Australian Government Resources and Energy Major Projects (REMP) list.

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.

Therefore, Mr. Morgan said Australia must tell the world it is ready to move away from being a fossil fuel heavyweight and towards a clean energy powerhouse.

Major Australian oil and gas company, Woodside Energy, signed the Oil & Gas Decarbonisation Charter introduced at COP28.

Woodside CEO Meg O'Neill said signing the Charter reaffirmed the company’s efforts to lower carbon and methane emissions.

“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.