Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Emirati-based ADNOC and appointed chairman of the United Nations Climate Conference COP28, stressed the need to focus on reducing emissions, warning that global energy needs will rise.
In his first speech since his appointment as president of the COP 28 conference, Al Jaber said that the least polluting fossil fuels should remain part of the energy mix, in addition to renewables and other solutions.
According to Al Jaber, “while the world is still using hydrocarbon energy sources, we must ensure that they are as carbon intensive as possible,” according to AFP.
“We are working with the energy industry to accelerate the reduction of carbon and methane emissions and the expansion of hydrogen production. Let’s focus on cutting emissions, not progress,” he added.
On Thursday, the UAE appointed the head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company as president of the COP 28 Climate Parties, drawing criticism from environmental activists.
The UAE is one of the largest oil producers in the world.
COP 28 will take place in Dubai in November and December.
Al-Jaber said that his country is taking a responsible and conscious approach to the task of hosting the Cup.
Al-Jaber believed that the world “remains behind the main goal of the Paris Agreement, which is to keep the planet’s temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius”, noting that in order to achieve this goal, “global emissions must be reduced by 43% by 2030”.
The world needs to triple renewable energy production to reach 23 TWh by 2030, while low-carbon hydrogen production needs to double, according to Al Jaber. He noted that the agricultural sector accounts for a third of global emissions.
“We are at a turning point in history. The future is low-emission growth and we need to get there faster,” Al Jaber said.
