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COP28 President says oil companies support 2050 net-zero goal

October 2, 2023 at 3:49 pm

UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, speaks during the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibion and Conference (ADIPEC) on 13 November 2017 [Karim Sahib/AFP via Getty Images]

COP28 President, Sultan Al-Jaber, said on Monday that more than 20 oil and gas companies were rallying around his calls to curb carbon emissions ahead of a United Nations summit on climate change, Reuters reports.

Jaber, who is also head of United Arab Emirates oil giant, ADNOC, has this year urged the energy industry to join the fight against climate change. He was a controversial pick to lead COP28, which begins next month, because his country is an OPEC member and a major oil exporter.

“We need a system-wide holistic transformation of entire economies – economies that currently run on the equivalent of 250 million barrels of oil, gas and coal every single day,” Jaber said at an oil and gas conference in Abu Dhabi.

“For too long, this industry has been viewed as part of the problem, that it’s not doing enough and, in some cases, even blocking progress. This is your opportunity to show the world that, in fact, you are central to the solution,” he said, addressing major energy companies.

READ: Will the UAE COP28 roadmap help the region for the energy revolution?

Jaber said that more than 20 oil and gas companies had positively answered calls to align around net zero by 2050, and to zero out methane emissions and eliminate routine flaring by 2030. He did not elaborate.

The COP28 summit is scheduled to take place in Dubai between 30 November and 12 December.

Ahead of COP28, countries remain divided between those demanding a deal to phase out planet-warming fossil fuels, and nations that insist on preserving a role for coal, oil and natural gas.

The summit is seen as a crucial opportunity for governments to accelerate action to limit global warming, with reports, so far, showing countries are off track to meet promises to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Major oil and gas company chiefs held meetings with heavy industry bosses on Sunday in the UAE to discuss a decarbonisation commitment ahead of COP28.

READ: Big Oil, heavy industry discuss emission curbs ahead of COP28