The president of COP28, Sultan Al Jaber, stated that the China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) will soon join the commitment of oil and gas companies to reduce methane emissions to zero by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions before 2050.
During his speech on Tuesday at the CERAWeek energy conference, Al Jaber declared that 52 international and national oil companies have already signed the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter, representing 44% of oil production.
"This is a significant breakthrough. But it's not enough," said Al Jaber, urging other oil and gas companies to "step forward and join."
Al Jaber's presidency at COP28 announced the charter with Saudi Arabia in December, during the United Nations climate summit held in Dubai, where nearly 200 countries agreed to phase out fossil fuels.
CNPC did not respond immediately to a request for comments. Previously, CNPC had stated that its goal was to peak its carbon emissions around 2025, reaching near-zero emissions by 2050, a decade ahead of China's target of carbon neutrality by 2060.
Among the signatories of the Charter are BP, Eni, ExxonMobil, Aramco, and ADNOC, which Al Jaber chairs as CEO.
Climate activists had criticized holding the summit in the United Arab Emirates, one of the leading oil exporters and a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Jaber, who also chairs the Emirati renewable energy company Masdar, stated that his experience in all forms of energy was ultimately beneficial.
