Leaked Documents Show $150 Billion In O&G Spending In 5 Years For ADNOC, Plus Greenwashing Strategy

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Over the next five years, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. has committed to spending $150 billion as part of an effort to expand its oil and gas operations, which last year dumped more planet-warming gases into the atmosphere than over 130 countries. Meanwhile, a “high” probability exists that the company will fail to deliver on its promises to effectively eliminate those emissions within a couple of decades, according to an internal communications strategy document from December 2022 obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News. Al-Jaber’s competing priorities offer just one example of the challenge facing the climate talks that begin this month in Dubai, the commercial capital of the UAE. As the summit’s president, al-Jaber is in a prime position to shape the outcome of negotiations over whether, and how fast, countries should shut down their oil, gas and coal production. And as the UAE’s leading fossil fuel executive, he’s making plans to ensure that oil and gas keep their place as the world’s dominant energy sources — while insisting they can be part of the solution on climate change.

The strategy document sheds new light on the company’s efforts to brace for the controversies awaiting it this year — and to boost its green credibility even as it pursues “accelerated growth.” The previously undisclosed document, each page of which is labeled “strictly confidential,” outlines efforts to downplay the company’s plans to expedite drilling while promoting its forays into capturing carbon and planting mangroves. That’s on top of the UAE government’s own extensive public relations and lobbying effort to build its — and al-Jaber’s — image as environmental leaders, a campaign that E&E News chronicled earlier this year.

The climate talks are already running into trouble, just weeks before the conference begins, with the U.S. and other countries still trying to agree on how to structure a global fund to help developing nations cope with climate disasters. Al-Jaber has urged the countries to come together, saying, “I don’t want this to be an empty bank account.” Al-Jaber himself has drawn much of the controversy surrounding this year’s summit, known as COP28, with progressive lawmakers and environmentalists on both sides of the Atlantic denouncing the UAE’s decision to name an oil mogul as president of the gathering.

In a response to a request for comment about its strategy for countering those attacks, the company said in a statement: “We cannot verify a document we have not seen. Irrespective, basing an article on an outdated and invalid source is a gross misrepresentation of the facts.” It said the language from the text that E&E News intended to publish in “no way reflects our strategy, approach or the progress we have made.” Last week, after E&E News shared two specific excerpts from the document, the company’s media team responded, “We have already provided detailed answers to your questions.”

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https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/10/how-an-oil-giant-sought-to-green-its-image-before-a-high-stakes-climate-summit-00126495