Fiona Harvey’s valuable interview with Dr Sultan Al Jaber (‘I wasn’t the obvious choice”: meet the oil man tasked with saving the planet, 7 October) hints at the importance of reducing methane, something she has previously identified as the most important measure to meet the 1.5C limit set out in the 2015 Paris agreement (Eight things the world must do to avoid the worst of climate change, 21 March 2023). Unless this short-lived super climate pollutant is cut immediately, the carbon budget for 1.5C – “beyond which” as she rightly reported “climate chaos will ensue” – is impossible and the Paris agreement is out of reach.
Dr Al Jaber wants near zero emissions of methane – the correct goal for the limited time the world should allow the continued use of fossil fuels. He has obtained agreement from many companies to end flaring and limit methane by 2030. That is a start, but it is not ambitious or fast enough.
