ADNOC, the Emirati oil giant led by the president of the COP28 climate conference, expects to spend over $1 billion each month on fossil fuels during this decade.

This figure is nearly seven times higher than its commitment to decarbonization projects in the same timeframe, according to research.

ADNOC, which recently became the first of its competitors to announce its goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2045, disagrees with Global Witness’ analysis, claiming that the assumptions made in the research are inaccurate.

This comes ahead of the COP28 climate summit, which Dubai will host, taking place from November 30 to December 12. COP28 is considered one of the most significant climate conferences since the historic 2015 Paris Agreement, with world leaders convening to discuss how to combat the climate crisis.

The person overseeing the proceedings, Sultan al-Jaber, is the CEO of ADNOC.

His dual roles as COP28 president and ADNOC CEO have sparked outrage among civil society groups and lawmakers from the US and EU, although several government ministers later defended his appointment.

Analysis conducted by the international NGO Global Witness, exclusively provided to CNBC, found that ADNOC plans to spend an average of $1.14 billion per month solely on oil and gas extraction until 2030, the same year the UN says the world must cut emissions by 45% to avoid a global catastrophe.

This means ADNOC is projected to spend nearly seven times more on fossil fuels than on “low-carbon solutions” projects by 2030.

By 2050, when the UN says the global economy must achieve net-zero emissions, $387 billion is to be invested in oil and gas projects.

The burning of fossil fuels is a major driver of the climate crisis.

Source: CNBC.com