Associate Press copy is provided via The Canadian Press
FILE – The Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and COP28 UAE President-Designate, Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, attends a joint press conference on the second day of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin, Germany, on May 3, 2023. The president of this years United Nations’ climate talks has urged the oil and gas industry to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by or before 2050 at a speech Thursday, July 6, 2023, to oil producing states. (John MacDougall/Pool Photo via AP, File)
The president of this year’s United Nations’ climate talks urged the oil and gas industry Thursday to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by or before 2050 in a speech to oil producing states.
Speaking at a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna, Sultan al-Jaber urged members to invest heavily in renewables and work toward reducing planet-warming emissions from third parties, such as those released by suppliers or customers.
He also encouraged nations to reach net zero methane emissions by 2030. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term and is released into the atmosphere by the oil and gas industry through leaks or flares.
Al-Jaber, who’s set to head up the talks known as COP28 in Dubai in December, is the head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, one of the world’s largest oil producers, as well as the United Arab Emirates’ renewables firm Masdar.
He urged OPEC nations to “show the world once more how essential this industry is to the solutions we need” for the climate crisis. Scientists and climate activists have repeatedly called for fossil fuels to be phased out to limit warming.
Meanwhile, the head of global energy giant Shell said it would be “irresponsible” to cut oil and gas production at a time when the world economy is still dependent on fossil fuels in an interview with the BBC released Thursday.
The oil and gas industry accounts for around 15% of energy-related global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the International Energy Agency.
Al-Jaber’s appointment as head of the climate talks was widely criticized by climate activists. Lawmakers in United States and Europe have called for him to be replaced given his ties to the fossil fuel sector and for the industry’s influence at the upcoming talks to be sharply limited.
He’s countered criticism at various international meetings, including the climate talks at Bonn, Germany last month, with claims that the talks will be “inclusive” and deliver a “game-changing outcome” for international efforts to tackle climate change.
A report by the group Climate Action Tracker earlier this year showed that many major producers of oil and gas, including the UAE and the United States, are currently increasing production.
“The sector is acting like there’s a gold rush, not a climate crisis,” the authors had warned in March.
Continued fossil fuel production goes against a global pledge to try to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) compared with pre-industrial times, the report said.
Scientists say that in order to achieve that goal, emissions need to be halved by 2030 and reach net zero by mid-century, meaning all emissions are either slashed or canceled out somehow.
___
Associated Press reporter Frank Jordans contributed to this report from Berlin.
___
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
- 0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online
- 0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click
- 0082 CsHM 2024 Pipeline0082 CsHM 2024 Pipeline
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0076 Latus only0076 Latus only
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0011
- 0006 JK Junior
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001