Climate scientists say fossil fuel consumption wants to decline, but the oil-rich kingdom is struggling to increase demand.
Saudi Arabia is leading a vast global investment plan aimed at generating demand for its oil and fuel in emerging countries, a secret investigation has revealed. Critics said the plan aimed to make countries “addicted to their destructive products. “
Little was known about the Oil Demand Sustainability Program (ODSP), yet the survey provided detailed data on plans to increase the use of fossil-fuel-powered cars, buses, and planes in Africa and elsewhere as rich countries turn to white energy.
The ODSP plans to boost the advancement of supersonic air travel, which it claims consumes three times more jet fuel than traditional aircraft, and partner with an automaker to mass-produce a cheap combustion engine vehicle. Other plans inspire motor boats, which use heavy fuel oil or polluting fuels to supply electricity to coastal communities.
The ODSP is overseen by Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and reaches out to its largest organizations, such as the $700 billion Public Investment Fund, the world’s largest oil company, Aramco, petrochemical company Sabic and the largest government. corporation. important departments.
In publicly available information, the programme is largely presented as “removing barriers” to energy and transport in poorer countries and “increasing sustainability”, for example by providing gas cooking stoves to replace wood burning.
However, all of the planned projects revealed in the investigation by the Center for Climate Reporting and Channel Four News involve an increase in the use of oil and gas. One official said it was “one of the main targets. “
The head of the World Bank recently said that wealthy countries and corporations will have to help emerging countries move beyond fossil fuel-based economic expansion of the afterlife and deploy renewable energy. If they don’t, Ajay Banga said, there is no hope of ending carbon emissions until 2050, as scientists around the world have repeatedly made clear, it was necessary to avoid a climate catastrophe.
Saudi Arabia has said it is committed to meeting the Paris Agreement’s climate goals to limit global warming to well below 2°C while aiming for an increase of no more than 1. 5°C. To achieve this, fossil fuel emissions must decrease and maximum oil and fuel reserves want to remain underground, meaning that climate policies, such as aid for electric cars, pose a significant risk to the oil-rich state’s revenues.
A significant issue at the UN’s Cop28 climate summit, which will begin on Thursday, is whether countries can deliver a pledge to phase down – or phase out – fossil fuels. This year the climate crisis has smashed temperature records and supercharged extreme weather has taken lives and livelihoods around the world.
Mohamed Adow, director of the think tank Power Shift Africa, said: “The Saudi government is like a drug dealer to make Africa addicted to its destructive product.
“The rest of the world is weaning itself off dirty and polluting fossil fuels and Saudi Arabia is getting desperate for more customers and is turning its sights on Africa. It’s repulsive.
“Africa catches up with the rest of the world by following in the footsteps of polluting countries. This would mean that we would miss out on the benefits of trendy energy responses that Africa can harness due to its huge renewable energy potential. We have the merit of the newcomers, which allows us to move towards a real transition of power. “
António Guterres, the UN secretary general, said in 2021: “We need to see adequate international support so African and other developing countries’ economies can leapfrog polluting development and transition to a clean, sustainable energy pathway.”
Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry responded to a request for comment.
The brief information on the programme’s English-language website calls it the oil sustainability programme, while on the Arabic version it is described as the oil demand sustainability programme.
Its stated objective, according to the Arabic site, is to “sustain and develop the demand for hydrocarbons as a competitive source of energy, by raising its economic and environmental efficiency, while ensuring that the transition in the energy mix [is] sustainable for the kingdom of Saudi Arabia”.
An announcement in June on the Saudi Arabian Stock Exchange related to a memorandum of understanding signed between the ODSP and the Saudi Industrial Export Company said it would first allow “activities in the spaces to maintain the demand for oil. “day to update this phrase with the authorization of “activities to promote access to energy”.
Details of ODSP’s plans were revealed after undercover journalists posed as potential investors and met with Saudi government officials. This revealed that the upcoming demand for oil and fuel in emerging countries is not unusual in planned projects.
The presentation used by the officials stated that the strategy to “unlock demand in emerging markets by removing barriers to energy access through infrastructure investments. “
When asked by reporters whether the purpose of bringing artificial life to life is necessary in some key markets, an official said: “Yes, that is one of the main purposes we seek to achieve.
“We don’t think it’s imaginable that [developing countries] can skip this [fossil fuel] phase because, to fully implement electric vehicles, you’re going to need an infrastructure that’s in a position to do so.
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After the Promotion
“Many African countries now don’t have a sufficient [electricity] grid to meet their daily needs. We believe they deserve the ability to get the energy they want to expand now. Then, in the future, they will be able to think about improving or transitioning. to more effective energy sources.
One of the criteria for deciding on the 46 ODSP projects is the “potential for increased demand,” officials said, and the program facilitates the investment required for the projects.
The projects are in three categories: transport, utilities and materials, with the third promoting the replacement of some cement, steel and wood used in construction with oil-derived plastics.
“The goal of the transport sector is the long-term sustainability of transport fuel. We’re talking about diesel, gasoline and jet fuel,” one official said, referring to the road investment component of the plan.
“We aim to accelerate and enhance the impact and adoption of internal combustion engine [ICE] technology and optimisation.
“We also have the opportunity to increase the availability and adoption of cheap cars, especially in emerging markets. Only 3% of the population owns a car in Africa.
According to the filing, the plan is to “partner with an automobile [manufacturer] in. . . the progression and production of a cheap and highly competitive car” that will “bring an accumulation of oil to the Kingdom”.
The ODSP is additionally targeting bus, ride-sharing and delivery services, according to the presentation: “The goal is to support the deployment of ICE fleets across developing countries to capture the increasing gasoline/diesel demand.”
In the airline sector, ODSP plans to increase flights by facilitating investments to “acquire or launch” a cheap airline. Officials said work had begun on “the accelerated progression of commercial aviation,” which “consumes more energy per seat. “-km — 3 times [than] subsonic advertising planes. “
Plans for power generation include “oil-fueled mini-grids,” which would burn diesel or heavy fuel oil, an official said. It would also facilitate investments in ships that obtain “floating power plants” powered by heavy fuel oil or gas.
Saudi Arabia signed agreements in November with Rwanda to “develop demand for hydrocarbon resources,” with Nigeria to “promote collaboration and our partnership in the oil and fuels sector,” and with Ethiopia to “cooperate on oil supply. “
“The fact that African countries are so desperate that they fall for this trick rests on the failure of the historic polluting nations to honour their climate finance pledges,” said Adow.
“But we want investment from rich countries that claim to be climate leaders. Otherwise, we can expect more dubious deals like this, which jeopardize not only Africans but also the global effort to ensure a safe and disgustingly rich climate for all.