On Saturday, UN experts published a letter in which they called on the Saudi oil giant Aramco. They raise the issue of the impact of the company’s activities on global warming.
Saudi Aramco’s activities and their impact on the climate
The letters, published on the Internet two months after they were sent, state that UN experts have received information “concerning Saudi Aramco’s commercial activities (…) which have negative consequences for the protection of human rights in the context of climate change”.
Among other things, they accuse it of “maintaining crude oil production, exploring for new oil and gas reserves, expanding its fossil fuel gas activities and misinformation”.
They believe that Saudi Aramco’s business activities are in contradiction with the objectives, obligations and commitments of the Paris Agreement. This agreement aims to limit the rise in global average temperature to 1.5°C.
Saudi Aramco’s responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions
Experts sit on the UN working group on human rights and transnational corporations. They sent letters to both Aramco and its backers. In addition, UN Special Rapporteurs responsible for rights and climate change also took part in the shipment. According to this correspondence, fossil fuels are responsible for over 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
It cites reports estimating that more than half of these emissions can be attributed to 25 companies in the fossil fuel sector, with “Saudi Aramco being the largest emitter of greenhouse gases”.
“Therefore, due to its historical emissions, Saudi Aramco would have already contributed significantly to the negative human rights impacts associated with climate change.”
UN appeal to Saudi Aramco and no response
UN experts are independent, unpaid personalities. They do not speak for the United Nations, but they have a responsibility to share their findings with the organization. The letter to Aramco included a request. This request concerned Aramco’s observations on ten specific points. This process had to be completed within 60 days. Once this deadline had passed, the letter and any replies received were intended to be made public. No response from Aramco appeared on the website of the United Nations human rights special procedures on Sunday morning. Aramco’s profits are the main source of funding for Crown Prince Mohammed ben Salmane’s vast program of economic and social reforms, designed precisely to enable the kingdom to diversify its economy, which is largely dependent on fossil fuels.
