UAE Business: Ditching hydrocarbons without viable alternatives is ‘self-defeating’ – Gulf Digital News

UAE Business: Ditching hydrocarbons without viable alternatives is ‘self-defeating’ – Gulf Digital News

Policies aimed at divesting from hydrocarbons too soon, without adequate viable alternatives, are self-defeating, said Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology.

They will undermine energy security, erode economic stability, and leave less income available to invest in the energy transition, said Dr Al Jaber, who is also Managing Director and Group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and the UAE’s special envoy for climate change, a WAM report said.

While renewable-energy investment globally exceeded $365 billion last year, combined investment in energy storage, carbon capture, and the hydrogen value chain was only $12 billion. That is not nearly enough, Dr Al Jaber wrote in his article published in Project Syndicate, an international media organisation that publishes and syndicates commentary and analysis on a variety of global topics.

$250 trillion of investment needed

The energy transition is estimated to need more than $250 trillion of investment over the next 30 years. Obviously, no single country, much less a single company, can foot this bill.

But financing isn’t the only issue. Energy transitions take time. While wind and solar accounted for the vast majority of all new power-generating capacity in 2021, they still comprise only 4% of