COP29: TotalEnergies chief defends oil's climate 'progress'

Climate activists stage a protest to demand a phase-out of fossil fuels during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku on November 15, 2024. [AFP]

The head of French oil giant TotalEnergies admitted the sector's role in climate change on Friday but insisted it was making "continuous progress."

"Yes, we are part of the problem," Patrick Pouyanne told AFP on the sidelines of "energy day" at the UN COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan.

But "we're in the mindset of continuous progress", he insisted, even "if we're never going fast enough" for some.

Pouyanne is one of several oil executives in town for events at COP29, and he started his day at Azerbaijan's country pavilion for a panel with the heads of state oil firm Socar and the Environmental Defense Fund, a US non-profit.

The French executive described a deal agreed at last year's COP28 in Dubai to transition away from fossil fuels as an "important signal."

But "we mustn't think that in six months, a year, everything will stop", he said, pointing to growing European demand for gas.

Progress will move "step by step," he added.

"I know that there is an emergency, I'm aware, but we also have to engage with all actors."

TotalEnergies and Socar announced plans to cooperate on reducing emissions of methane -- a powerful but short-lived greenhouse gas often produced by leaks at gas extraction sites.

More than 50 oil and gas companies have joined a pledge, launched in Dubai last year, to reach "near-zero" methane emissions in their operations by 2030.

Pouyanne said the companies account for 45 percent of global oil and gas production, and if they make progress, other firms could follow.

"It is crucial that we act together," he said, suggesting that oil majors could help state oil companies that lack the tools and culture of transparency to reduce emissions.
"We must accept that it will take a little bit of time," he said.

A report by the Carbon Tracker think tank published Thursday found that there were big loopholes in the pledges of the world's major oil and gas companies that risked "exacerbating the climate crisis."