Big Oil will fight tooth and nail to protect its dirty profits, but the writing is on the wall
The ongoing COP28 in Dubai has pitted oil companies and petrostates against the rest of the world on the issue of whether we phase out or phase down fossil fuels.
At stake is the most important technological transition in human history: leaving fossil fuels behind and replacing them with renewable energies. Contrary to the arguments that this transition will mean a return to the dark ages, which nobody in their right mind believes anymore, leaving behind oil and gas will usher in an age of energy abundance. Which is why the commitment to triple renewable energy production at COP 28 is a fundamental step forward.
Let’s start by clarifying what we’re talking about here: the use of the term phase out, proposed by most countries, as opposed to phase down, or a simple reduction, defended by the oil companies. There is also talk of unabated fossil fuels or “direct consumption of fossil fuels”, as opposed to “abated fossil fuels”, where consumption is supposedly combined with technologies to capture and store a certain amount of the carbon dioxide produced.
It’s clear to most people that the oil companies are using euphemisms here: first, because a phase out would send a much stronger signal to the market than a simple phase down, and would…
