Mr. Dudley was recently asked to join the advisory board of COP 28, and he’s in his seventh year as Chairman of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), which he says is a great example of collaboration in the industry.

“In 2015, the industry came together and said, you know, climate change is a real thing. Everyone believed in it, that it was happening, no deniers at all, and we needed to work together as an industry.” But he says it wasn’t easy. With 12 of the world’s biggest oil and gas producers, “Everybody defines their measurements on natural gas, for example, in different ways. And what is carbon intensity.” So, the group created common definitions and, in 2017, formed a $1 billion fund to invest in early-stage clean energy technologies. It plans to start another fund soon.

Looking forward to COP 28, which will drive meaningful involvement from the energy industry, he said “You do need all voices. I’m a strong believer that, you know, the oil and gas industry, and now the broader energy industry, has solved some of the greatest engineering problems on earth with technology and capital and knowhow. And, to exclude that from the very energy piece we’re doing has not felt right to most people in the industry.”

Speaking about momentum in the energy transition, he said “I think some of the speed bumps could be the policymakers.” But he wouldn’t underestimate politicians and regulators with the permitting and regulatory process, citing good examples in Germany recently, as well as some very progressive states in the US that want to see movement.