Chevron, Exxon say no for now on funding COP28 methane reduction fund (NYSE:CVX)

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) are not joining a grant fund unveiled at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai to help developing countries and their state-owned companies reduce the release of methane emissions, Bloomberg reported Monday.

The initiative secured $25M each from six oil companies: BP (BP), Eni (E), Equinor (EQNR), Occidental Petroleum (OXY), Shell (SHEL) and TotalEnergies (TTE) – and some countries also chipped in, including the United Arab Emirates with $100M, the U.S. with $2M, Germany with $1.5M and Norway with $1M.

Yet some oil companies were reluctant to underwrite a fund seen as effectively providing cash donations to global competitors, according to Bloomberg.

Exxon (XOM) said it supports the goal of the Global Methane Reduction Fund and could still agree to provide technical skills in methane detection and mitigation to help reduce emissions.

Chevron (CVX) also was notably absent from a pledge by 50 oil and gas producers including Exxon (XOM) announced at COP28 to cut methane emissions from their own operations to near-zero and halt flaring of natural gas by the end of the decade.