UAE COP28 president calls on oil firms to 'deliver climate action'

VIENNA — The United Arab Emirates' incoming COP28 president on Thursday urged the fossil fuel sector to “step up its game” and “deliver climate action” to achieve a low-carbon energy system, only months before the Emirates is due to host the UN climate conference in Dubai in November.

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber made the comments via a televised address to delegates at the OPEC International Seminar in Vienna, a meeting of oil executives and OPEC ministers. OPEC is comprised of 13 oil exporting countries — including the UAE — with an additional 10 that form OPEC+.

The choice of Jaber as the next COP president has raised eyebrows and attracted some criticism due to his role as CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), one of the world’s largest polluters. However, Jaber is also chairman of the renewable energy company Masdar.

Jaber, the first oil CEO to preside over a COP climate change conference, called on the industry to “deliver climate action and economic opportunity.”

Scientists say the planet must reduce carbon emissions by 43% by 2030 if it wants to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming over pre-industrial levels by 1.5 C (34.7 F) and avert a climate catastrophe.

Jaber noted that in the same timeframe, energy demand will only increase as 500 million more people join the world’s population. OPEC forecasts energy demand to increase by 23% in 2045.

“Therefore, the critical challenge of this century is to dramatically reduce emissions while maintaining robust sustainable development. And here we are talking about a system-wide transformation of entire economies,” Jaber said.

“For too long, this industry has been viewed by some as part of the problem. Now is the time to step up, flip the script and show the world once more how essential this industry is to the solutions we need,” he added. “So I invite you to use your resources, your experience, your knowledge and your skills to help humanity build a bridge to a brighter future.”

Energy companies have faced legal challenges and come under heavy fire for continuing to invest in fossil fuel extraction. At the OPEC event on Wednesday, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne suggested that oil companies should make climate commitments ahead of COP28.

Kuwait’s Oil Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Saad al-Barrak said his country was “ready to collaborate” with the UAE to make COP28 a success.

“The success of the conference will be the culmination of international climate action and the cooperation and joint efforts to protect the planet,” he told the UAE’s state news agency, WAM, in an article published on Thursday.

Barrak added that Kuwait will invest more than $300 billion in the country’s energy sector by 2040, which will include increasing national oil production capacity to 3.2 million barrels per day.

OPEC banned a large swathe of journalists who applied to attend and report on the event, including Al-Monitor, Bloomberg, Reuters and The Wall Street Journal.

A spokesperson for the group told Al-Monitor it was “an administrative decision” but gave no other reason for the move. It marks the second time in a month OPEC has blocked some reporters from covering its events.