(Calgary) Executives and leaders from the Canadian oil and gas sector are heading to Dubai for the upcoming climate negotiations as part of the United Nations COP28.

The New Pathways Alliance consortium, which brings together oilsands companies, and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers are among the groups that will represent the country’s fossil fuel industry at the climate summit.

The New Pathways Alliance says it is going to the summit because it recognizes that the tar sands are a major emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG).

The group says it wants to tell the world that it is committed to being part of the solution. He’s eager to talk about some of his plans to reduce emissions, including a proposal to spend $16.5 billion to build a massive carbon capture and storage network in northern Alberta.

Janetta McKenzie of clean energy think tank Pembina Institute says the oil and gas sector is increasingly recognizing that it needs to do more to tackle GHG emissions if it wants to remain competitive in the future.

But she adds that COP28 observers need to be alert to greenwashing, as many oil and gas companies have so far made lots of promises on climate, but have yet to invest the tens of billions of dollars necessary to make these promises a reality.