Energy ministers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates
and Iraq, the three largest members of the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), have gathered in the Saudi capital Riyadh for the U.N. MENA climate week.
and Iraq, the three largest members of the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), have gathered in the Saudi capital Riyadh for the U.N. MENA climate week.
"The three of us here as major hydrocarbon producers also
have a responsibility to the world to provide the transition
with enough hydrocarbon resources to make sure we are
transitioning at a responsibly priced manner," UAE Energy
Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said on a panel that grouped the
three countries.
The UAE will host the COP28 climate summit scheduled to take
place in Dubai between Nov. 30 and Dec. 12.
The summit is an opportunity for governments to try to
accelerate action to curb global warming to prevent the most
devastating consequences of extreme weather following a year of record temperatures, wildfires and drought.
Reports so far show countries are off track to meet a U.N. target to keep the rise in global temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5C.
"COP28 will deliver transformational outcomes for this region, and for the world," Sultan al-Jaber, COP28 president,
said in his opening remarks on Sunday.
said in his opening remarks on Sunday.
The choice of Jaber to lead the summit has draw criticism
from environmental campaigners because his country is an OPEC member and a major oil exporter, and he is the boss of state oil giant ADNOC.
He has argued for a more inclusive COP that brings the oil
and gas industry into the climate debate and allows it to be
part of the solution through decarbonisation initiatives.
and gas industry into the climate debate and allows it to be
part of the solution through decarbonisation initiatives.
Ahead of COP28, countries are divided between those
demanding a deal to phase out planet-warming fossil fuels, andnations that say coal, oil and natural gas have a continued rolecombined with technology to capture their emissions.
"We have had 27 COPs, and you might be surprised to learn
that 17 of them have been hosted in fossil fuel-producing
nations," Jaber said.
"The fact is, energy is fundamental to everyone, everywhere."
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman also said
the industry should not be stigmatised and the world still
needed hydrocarbons.
"There is a case for us to be in oil and gas," he told the
audience.
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