CERAWEEK - UAE's Jaber urges Big Oil to tackle climate challenges

The UAE's designated president of the COP28 climate conference believes in an inclusive approach to addressing climate change, he said at the CERAWEEK energy conference in Houston on Monday, urging the oil and gas industry to get behind net-zero targets. "I know that some of you might have felt excluded from the climate dialogue in the past, while others may have felt this isn't their problem to fix," Sultan al-Jaber, who also heads the United Arab Emirates' state oil giant ADNOC, told the conference.

The UAE's designated president of the COP28 climate conference believes in an inclusive approach to addressing climate change, he said at the CERAWEEK energy conference in Houston on Monday, urging the oil and gas industry to get behind net-zero targets.

"I know that some of you might have felt excluded from the climate dialogue in the past, while others may have felt this isn't their problem to fix," Sultan al-Jaber, who also heads the United Arab Emirates' state oil giant ADNOC, told the conference. "I also know that energy leaders in this room have the knowledge, experience, expertise and the resources needed to address the dual challenge of driving sustainable progress while holding back emissions."

UAE, a major OPEC oil exporter, is hosting the COP28 climate summit in Dubai from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12, becoming the second Arab state to do so after Egypt in 2022. Jaber's call for the inclusion of oil and gas executives in the summit is a far cry from 2021's COP26 in Glasgow, but there has since been a shift in thinking prompted in part by the energy crunch triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Still, Jaber's appointment as COP28 president late last year fuelled activist concerns that big indutry was hijacking the world's response to the global warming crisis. Some demanded he give up his ADNOC role to steer the event. Jaber's COP28 presidency involves shaping the conference agenda and negotiations between governments.

Since his appointment he has advocated for all stakeholders to join the climate debate and on Monday emphasised that he would "consult and convene" with all. "This industry must take responsibility and lead the way," he said of the oil and gas sector. "Let's remember that progress is made through partnership not polarisation."