Essay by Eric Worrall
The farce is strong with this climate conference.
Top consultancy undermining climate change fight: whistleblowers
November 8, 2023 – 3:42AM
The world’s top management consultancy McKinsey & Company is using its position as a key advisor to the UN’s COP28 climate talks to push the interests of its big oil and gas clients, undermining efforts to end the use of the fossil fuels driving global warming, according to multiple sources and leaked documents.
Behind closed doors, the US-based firm has proposed future energy scenarios to the agenda setters of the summit that are at odds with the climate goals it publicly espouses, an AFP investigation has found.
An “energy transition narrative” drafted by the firm and obtained by AFP only reduces oil use by 50 percent by 2050, and calls for trillions in new oil and gas investment per year from now until then.
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“But it was very clear from an early stage that McKinsey had a conflict of interest,” said a source who took part in COP28 presidency discussions.
“They would give advice at the highest levels that was not in the best interest of the COP president as the leader of a multilateral climate agreement, but in the best interest of the COP president as the CEO of one of the region’s biggest oil and gas companies.”
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I’m starting to wish I’d bought a ticket.
The whole conference is being run by Sultan Al Jaber, in between Al Jaber running Abu Dhabi’s national oil company – the same company which announced a $150 billion investment in gas production in November last year.
Now a big oil consultancy which offered its services for free has been accused of schilling for big oil.
This comedy climate conference is lurching between absurdities, and it hasn’t even started yet. I’m looking forward to the floor show.
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