The push comes from Egypt and its gas-producing allies amid a global energy crisis exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “The opportunity for this cop is to openly discuss that natural gas, and particularly when combined with carbon capture, is a scalable energy solution that allows us to meet the needs of 8 billion people while meeting our climate goals,” Craig stated. Golinowski, of Carbon Infrastructure Partners, a Canadian private equity fund that supports projects related to fossil fuels as well as carbon sequestration. Environmental experts warn that burning gas, a fossil fuel, risks increasing warming well beyond the 1.5C target limitation needed to avoid major environmental disruptions. Gas is less climate-polluting than coal, but its production involves harmful methane, and leaks from infrastructure can cause large-scale pollution. In addition, experts such as the Washington-based Environmental Working Group warn that carbon sequestration risks delaying a meaningful transition away from fossil fuels, calling it a license for the fossil fuel industry to continue to pollute. “Natural gas is really the only proven way to reduce emissions at scale. If we don’t have enough energy, we get more emissions,” Golinowski said, proposing a theory that a lack of natural gas automatically leads to an increase in the use of coal, not renewables, as many argue. “I think the binary of oil and gas as bad, wind and solar as good is really a disaster,” he added. Golinowski does not plan to attend Cop27, but will follow the discussions closely. Specifically, he said he would rely on members of the German gas industry and their lobbyists to support “a larger global gas market,” as Germany represents the center of a European energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. In the year since Cop26 in Glasgow, which included the launch of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance to “deliver a managed and just transition away from oil and gas production”, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its decision Moscow’s decision to cut gas supplies to Europe sparked a marked shift in global attitudes towards natural gas, setting the stage for discussions at Cop27 between world leaders and gas producers on whether gas should be seen as a transition fuel and not as a fossil fuel. “I think what we’re seeing right now, because of Russia, is that we’re still going to need natural gas for part or all of this transition — nobody’s naive enough to think that you can turn off gas use tomorrow and it’s going to let’s be good,” said Nazmeera Moola, the head of sustainability at South African investment firm Ninety One. “Then you add in the high price of natural gas right now and it certainly starts to look attractive.” Moola said the hunt to replace Russia’s vast gas supply to Europe is likely to affect discussions on exploring new gas reserves across Africa, despite calls to resist it in favor of meeting emissions targets. calling this shift “a new perspective” on exploiting African gas reserves. Asked if this would affect discussions between major gas producers, policymakers and diplomats gathered at Cop27, she said: “Will this discussion take place within the meetings? Sure.” Vikram Singh, of the sustainable energy nonprofit Rocky Mountain Institute, said: “It’s all because of the crisis in Ukraine, I think we can thank Putin for that. This is Putin’s energy crisis, but the global North had a real chance to respond by using the opportunity to promote renewable energy as they adjust their own economies – but what we see are easy answers like Germany firing up coal plants and is looking for new gas on the African continent. “We know there is pressure, not only from major oil and gas companies, but some high-level delegations from the Middle East present at this year’s Cop.” Singh said oil and gas producers were guilty of what he called “doublespeak” on the energy transition, with public statements rarely matching their private actions. The most important stories on the planet. Get all the week’s environmental news – the good, the bad and the must-haves Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “We were very optimistic at Cop26 to see oil and gas companies participating there. To give them credit, during the recent panels we’ve been on, the oil and gas companies have been saying the right things [the energy] transition,” he said. “But behind closed doors, they’re still pushing a very dangerous product, a product that in the short term is too rich for them to abandon, so we find a double game at play here and as a lot of climate negotiations take place behind closed doors we’re trying to shine a light in the countries that take positions on issues such as natural gas”. Egypt’s goal of becoming a major natural gas exporter could also prove a boon for gas lobbyists and advocates attending the conference. At Cop26, fossil fuel lobbyists numbered 503 delegates, more than any country delegation, and similar numbers were expected at Cop27. Egypt hosted a meeting of the Forum of Natural Gas Exporting Countries shortly before the start of Cop27, including representatives from the Cop28 host country, the United Arab Emirates. The ministers said after the meeting that “Cop27 and Cop28 are a great opportunity to support natural gas in the energy transition,” while Cop27 president Sameh Shoukry recently called natural gas a “transitional energy source.” BP, which produces nearly 60% of Egypt’s vast natural gas reserves and whose chief executive, Bernard Looney, has close ties to Egypt’s president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, declined to answer questions about the presence of Cop27, including the number of delegates. present or his goals for the conference. In an email from March this year, given to the Guardian through a freedom of information request by the Culture Unstained group, the British ambassador in Cairo, Gareth Bailey, discussed BP’s renewable energy plans against of natural gas with a colleague from the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office in London. “BP Egypt… has been friendly but low-key about BP’s green energy plans. They said they had their hands full with gas so they were unlikely to do much,” he said. Delegates from countries most vulnerable to climate change were alarmed by the potential push to promote natural gas at Cop27. “Anyone who has read an IPCC or IEA report, or even their own energy bill for this winter, should know that investing in natural gas is the wrong choice. It is the epitome of short-term gains for long-term losses. Renewables are already leading the way – this is the smart, clean, cheap investment today,” said John Silk, of the Marshall Islands, whose territory is at risk of being partially submerged by rising oceans as early as 2035.
