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.
With scientists saying 2023 is certain to be the hottest year on record, and greenhouse gas emissions headed for unprecedented levels, McKinsey is"vocally and brazenly calling for lower levels of ambition on oil phase-out at the highest levels within the COP28 presidency," said a source who was in the room on confidential discussions with the summit hosts.
"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."The McKinsey energy scenario for the COP28 presidency"reads as if it was written by the oil industry for the oil industry", said Kingsmill Bond, a top equity expert who analysed it.
But analysts said the pathway McKinsey suggested to Jaber for the COP talks would allow fossil fuel firms to continue to pump way too much oil and gas to hit"net zero". "Even with the current situation and no additional climate policies, we expect that global oil demand will peak in this decade," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
"Our inaction on client emissions poses serious risk to our reputation" and"our client relationships", they wrote. "We do need the consultancies to help because we've got to get going and move very quickly," said Bob Ward of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics.