UAE COP28 president calls on oil firms to ‘deliver climate action’

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