Braskem cancels participation in COP28 due to worsening crisis in Maceió – 12/04/2023 – Daily Life

Braskem canceled its participation in COP28 citing the “worsening of the Maceió crisis”. Part of the city is at risk of collapse due to the possibility of collapse in one of the rock salt extraction mines that the company has under the capital of Alagoas.

“In recent days, given the worsening of the crisis in Maceió, [a Braskem] thought it best to cancel its participation in some panels to prevent the subject from overriding any other technical discussions, hindering any contributions that the company could offer,” the company said in a statement.

To Reuters, the company stated that it canceled its presence in all panels in which it would participate.

Earlier, at an event in São Paulo, Braskem’s executive president, Roberto Bischoff, said that there are “good indications” of soil accommodation in the mine area at risk of collapse, but highlighted that it is not possible to say what the result.

In the Brazilian pavilion at COP28, the company would participate in two events. On Friday (8), they would talk about “The role of industry in the carbon-neutral circular economy”. In the second (11), the theme would be “Impacts of climate change and the need for industry adaptation”.

Furthermore, the mining company was also present at the CNI (National Confederation of Industry) stand at COP28. A company representative would have participated, last Friday (1st), in a panel to talk about “the importance of preparing an emissions inventory” as a tool to “increase the competitiveness of organizations”. On Sunday (3), a representative moderated a panel on “the strategic relevance of the circular economy for mitigating emissions”.

It is also worth highlighting a point that brings Braskem closer to COP28. The president of the current COP, Sultan al-Jaber, is also president of Adnoc, the UAE’s state oil company. Adnoc is interested in acquiring an important stake in Braskem and, at the beginning of November, made an offer of US$2.1 billion (R$10.3 billion) to do so.

Furthermore, recently, leaked documents showed that the United Arab Emirates planned to use COP28 as an opportunity to close oil and gas deals — the idea is denied by al-Jaber.

The leaked documents show discussion points prepared by Adnoc representatives. Among the points relating to Brazil, there was mention that, for Marina Silva, Minister of the Environment, assistance would be requested to “guarantee alignment and endorsement” in relation to Adnoc’s offer to purchase part of Braskem.

In a note this Monday (4), the Civil Defense of Maceió stated that it remains on “maximum alert” and cited “imminent risk of collapse” of Braskem’s rock salt mine 18, in the Mutange neighborhood.

Salt extraction activity under Maceió had been carried out since the 1970s, but was interrupted in 2019 after neighborhoods in the city began to record cracks in streets and buildings due to the movement of huge cavities created by mining. The mine closure procedure, however, is still ongoing.