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Rachel Corningbills
Renewable energy capacity needs to triple by 2030, Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, head of the UAE’s state-owned energy giant and chair-designate of the upcoming UN COP28, told CERAWeek
The fossil fuel pumping industry must move faster to curb greenhouse gas emissions, said Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, head of the United Arab Emirates state energy company and incoming chair of the controversial United Nations climate conference, due to take place later this year.
“Let me call on you today to decarbonize faster, adapt to the future earlier, and create the energy system of the future today,” he said Monday during a keynote address at CERAWeek, a major global energy conference in Houston. .
The oil executive will lead the next United Nations meeting of the parties, COP28, which is scheduled to take place from November 30 to December. The UAE ranks 12th, a title that has raised concerns among environmental groups about whether oil and gas industry leaders should play such a high-profile role in what is arguably the world’s key annual climate change conference. COP27 is held in Egypt.
“This appointment goes beyond putting the fox in charge of the henhouse,” said Teresa Anderson, global head of climate justice at ActionAid, a development nonprofit, earlier this year.
COP28 is expected to bring together more than 70,000 participants, including heads of state, government officials, international industry leaders, private sector representatives, academics, experts, youth and non-state actors.
al-Jaber said on Monday that the size of the energy industry and the pressure to adapt made its leadership in the energy transition crucial.
“Energy leaders have the knowledge, experience, expertise and resources needed to meet the twin challenges of driving sustainable growth while curbing emissions.”
Balancing the energy needs of a growing planet with the call to reduce emissions is a delicate task, he said.
“By 2030, there will be 5 billion more people on this planet, requiring more energy every year. At the same time, the world needs to reduce emissions by 7% every year to keep 1.5% of the population alive [the temperature limit, in Celsius, set at 2015’s Paris climate summit]. In less than seven years, it’s 43 percent,” he told the conference.
“great choice”
Despite criticism of the UAE and al-Jaber’s choice to lead COP28, he did win the support of US climate envoy John Kerry.
Kerry, a former presidential candidate and secretary of state, told The Associated Press earlier this year that the UAE and other countries that rely on fossil fuels to fund their coffers face the problem of finding “some balance” in the future.
However, Kerry dismissed the idea that Al Jaber’s appointment would automatically disqualify him for his leadership of ADNOC.
“I think Dr Sultan al-Jaber is a fantastic choice because he is the head of the company. The company knows it needs to transform,” Kerry said after attending an energy conference in the UAE capital. “He knows – the leadership in the UAE is committed to the transition.”
The UAE is a key US military ally in the region
Abu Dhabi said earlier this year that it planned to increase crude oil production from 4 million barrels per day to 5 million barrels per day, despite the UAE’s pledge to become carbon neutral by 2050 – a goal that remains difficult to assess and still hasn’t been fully explained by the UAE how it will be achieved.
RELATED: John Kerry tells AP he supports UAE oil chief overseeing COP28
Mandated by the Paris Climate Agreement, COP28 will see the UAE conduct its first global “stocktake” – a comprehensive assessment of progress towards climate goals.
“This year, the world will assess exactly where we are on climate change … We know we’re off track. We need a major adjustment,” al-Jaber said in Houston.
He added: “In order to echo two of the city’s most famous phrases, first we need to recognize ‘Houston … we have problems,’ and then we need to agree that ‘failure is not an option.'”
Only half of the oil and gas industry has announced net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions targets by 2050. Scope 1 and Scope 2 primarily track emissions sources directly from energy combustion and the oil company’s own operations. Scope 3 emissions, which are more difficult to record, cover pollution up and down the supply chain.
“Everyone in the industry needs to align around the same goal. We should try to go further. Let’s aim to get to net zero sooner. Let’s also scale up best practice to get to net zero by 2030 methane emissions,” he said in his speech. Methane is a more potent but shorter-lived emission than carbon dioxide, making it a newly favored mitigation target.
READ: Energy group slams Big Oil for not spending just 3% of record profits on methane cuts
“Let’s electrify our operations, equip our facilities with carbon capture and storage, and use all available technology to increase efficiency. Let’s monitor, measure, and verify progress every step of the way,” al-Jaber continued: “Making progress in the climate crisis It’s not just about decarbonizing the oil and gas business. With the right incentives, the right technology, the right mindset and the right partnerships, the oil and gas industry has the capacity and the resources to help everyone address Scope 3.”
A Decade of Energy Diversification
Al-Jaber is a trusted confidant of UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. He also led a once-ambitious project to build a $22 billion “carbon-neutral” city on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi — a project that would later be destroyed after the global financial crisis hit the UAE in 2008, according to the Associated Press. Gradually shrink. Today, he also serves as chairman of Masdar, a clean energy company that grew out of the project.
In his speech on Monday, al-Jaber said that renewable energy (ICLN) capacity needs to triple by 2030. ”
“This is the decade of diversifying portfolios, future-proofing companies and delivering the clean energy the world needs,” he said. “That said, we know that renewables are not enough for high-emitting industries. Aluminum, steel, cement and many other heavy industries account for 30% of global emissions.”
He urged governments around the world to put in place incentives to “get the market moving in the right direction”.
“The industry needs clear policies to guide long-term investment decisions. The right regulations will spur breakthrough technologies to unlock battery storage, reduce carbon capture costs, and develop and commercialize the hydrogen value chain,” he repeated the International Energy Agency’s call for The energy transition provides triple funding of $1.4 trillion.
Asked what he hoped to achieve at COP28, al-Jaber outlined key priorities in terms of mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, which instruct wealthier countries to pay to offset the resource-intensive impact of climate change. , impacts in poorer countries, and innovations in climate finance and processes.
“COP28 will be a COP of operations,” he said, adding, “We want real results. The world must move from treaties to implementation.”
-Rachel King Beers
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(End) Dow Jones Newswires
03-06-23 1523ET
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