- Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest is attending the COP28 climate conference in the United Arab Emirates.
- He says energy bosses should have their heads “put up on spikes” for not committing to phase out fossil fuels.
- It comes as some companies, including the national oil company of the UAE, defy calls for a wind-down of fossil fuel use.
Quote with context:
And he took particular aim at the oil and gas bosses who were dismissing the calls, describing them as “selfish beyond belief”.
He said their actions were jeopardising the lives of millions of people in overwhelmingly poor countries who were at risk of “lethal humidity”, or an inability to cool themselves down. “If you can’t cool yourself you’re actually an oven burning around 100 watts all the time,” Dr Forrest said.
"If you can [sic] get rid of that heat energy, you cook.
"And when these deaths occur — and they’re occurring now, but when they occur at much larger-scale — I want these so-called people who are very smart to be held to account.
“It’s their heads which should be put up on spikes because they wilfully ignored and they didn’t care.”
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Australian mining magnate and climate campaigner Andrew Forrest has lashed out in an extraordinary outburst aimed at oil and gas supremos, saying their heads should be “put on spikes”.
Tensions are increasing in Dubai over the nature of the final wording of the COP summit, with some pushing for a complete end to the use of coal, oil and gas, as others resist the demand.
Earlier this week, the head of US oil and gas behemoth Exxon said there had been too much focus on renewable energy and not enough attention paid to the role hydrogen, biofuels and carbon capture and storage could play in cutting emissions.
Exxon, along with fellow American giant Chevron and the national oil companies of Saudi Arabia and COP28 host the UAE, have defied calls for a wind-down in fossil fuel use by investing heavily in new capacity and the acquisition of competitors.
According to Mr Forrest, attempts by the world’s oil majors to hold up carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a solution to global warming were a red herring.
For all the consternation, many of the leading figures in attendance — including US Climate Envoy John Kerry and the head of the UN body that oversees COP — have backed the need for the industry to be involved.
The original article contains 979 words, the summary contains 215 words. Saved 78%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
There has been a considerable amount of attention to the role they could play in cutting emissions, and the conclusion is that their role is to maintain the profits of the fossil fuel industry by distracting everyone from things that would actually cut emissions.