TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanné backed the scenario of a potential extended life for fossil fuels in the energy system, speaking at the sidelines of the UN COP30 climate summit in Belém, where he is one of the rare top business leaders to attend.
The French businessman said the latest update to the International Energy Agency outlook — which outlined a scenario under which global oil and gas demand could rise for the next 25 years if governments did not make any policy progress — was realistic.
“Me, to progress, I need to look at reality,” he said, adding that the point of having the scenarios was “not to stay on current scenario [but] to have it as a baseline”.
He cast doubt on the progress of global efforts to reach “net zero” emissions, which scientists have said is needed to keep global warming to within 1.5C since pre-industrial times.
“I think the world today, not just for tech and investment reasons but geopolitically, to be at net zero, we would need a sacred union of all countries, which is not really what we observe,” Pouyanne said.
The TotalEnergies boss would not be drawn on the extent of the effects of climate change, caused mainly by the burning of fossil fuels, on extreme weather events.
“There have always been hurricanes in the Gulf of Americas or Gulf of Mexico or Caribbean,” he said, in response to a question about paying damages to those affected by extreme weather. “I observe that, sadly, they used to exist, they still do, there will be more.”
Scientists from the World Weather Attribution have said that last month’s Hurricane Melissa, the strongest on record to hit Jamaica, was made six times more likely by man-made climate change.
“I am not a scientist, so I can’t judge,” Pouyanné said. But the world was “capable” of keeping global warming within 2.4C or 2.5C above pre-industrial levels, he added.
Total and its peers, including Shell, face a growing number of legal threats from climate activists who draw on the body of evidence about the link between burning fossil fuels and extreme weather events. Total lost a greenwashing case in France last month.
Increasing finance for poorer countries to adapt to events such as Hurricane Melissa is among the issues high on the agenda at COP30.
The Brazilian hosts are also pushing for a “road map” for nations to make plans to wean their economies off fossil fuels.
But Pouyanne said he was “not sure” about this idea. “That is a European vision of how governments work.”
He spoke at an event on Friday co-hosted by the Brazilian COP presidency supporting a decarbonisation initiative launched by 50 companies, including BP and ExxonMobil, at COP28 in Dubai in 2023.
The members of the so-called Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter represent more than half of global production and have pledged to work towards a 2030 target for “near zero” emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
The Total chief appeared alongside an executive from Brazil’s state-owned Petrobras, which is a partner in oil and gas exploration and production in the country.
Pouyanné highlighted Total’s continued clean energy investments and defended his decision to attend. “Otherwise, we stay in our own corner and produce petrol and don’t engage. That’s not the point.”
Analysis by the anti-corruption campaign group Global Witness has found that fossil fuel lobbyists made up a record share of those accredited to attend the COP this year, which was smaller overall, accounting for 1,600 of about 56,000 registrations.
Occidental Petroleum chief executive Vicki Hollub was also registered to attend COP30, but the Houston-based company declined to comment on her movements. Her appearance would have made her the only prominent US chief to attend the climate summit, following Washington’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement under President Donald Trump.
Global commodities traders were also notable among attendees, including those from Cargill, Mercuria and Louis Dreyfus.
BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank — each engaged in the development of carbon markets and natural capital investments — sent representatives to COP30, while Bank of America was also represented, including by carbon trading expert Abyd Karmali.
Brazil has drawn about $5bn in pledges for its planned $125bn forest protection fund, which is hosted by the World Bank, but will require input from bankers and money managers to grow.
The 56,000 people on the provisional list of participants released by the UN did not reflect the final attendance figures, with the two-week event at the port city, which is the gateway of the Amazon, presenting logistical challenges.
At last year’s COP in Azerbaijan, 65,000 participants registered and 40,000 ultimately attended. By comparison, about 70,000 attended COP28 in Dubai, one of the most physically accessible conferences of recent years.
In Belém, China’s delegation is by far the largest. It registered 789 participants, more than any other country other than host nation Brazil, the provisional UN data shows.
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