Current:Home > NewsAn oil CEO who will head global climate talks this year calls for lowered emissions-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
An oil CEO who will head global climate talks this year calls for lowered emissions
View Date:2024-12-23 23:11:05
A top oil company CEO who will lead international climate talks later this year told energy industry power players on Monday that the world must cut emissions 7% each year and eliminate all releases of the greenhouse gas methane — strong comments from an oil executive.
"Let me call on you to decarbonize quicker," Sultan al-Jaber, CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., said at the Ceraweek conference, held in Houston.
But al-Jabar did not directly address emissions from transportation, where most crude oil ends up. Emissions from transport are the largest contributor to climate change in many countries, including the United States.
Al-Jaber singled out electricity, cement, steel and aluminum as targets for cleanup, but not trucks, cars, trains and aircraft. He called for far greater investment to speed the transition to cleaner industries.
"According to the IEA, in 2022, the world invested $1.4 trillion in the energy transition," he said. "We need over three times that amount."
And that investment, he said, must flow to the developing world.
"Only 15% of clean tech investment reaches developing economies in the global south, and that is where 80% of the population live," he stressed.
Al-Jaber did not call for the phasing out of oil and gas production and use, something that scientists and advocates have been demanding unsuccessfully over repeated COPs, short for Conference of the Parties, where nations meet to make climate commitments.
According to the International Energy Agency, to avoid the worst climate changes, there must be no new oil and gas infrastructure built out.
The United Arab Emirates leader said his country was first in its region to commit to the Paris climate agreement, and to set a pathway to net zero emissions. But its emissions in 2021 were up 3%, not down, from the year before, according to the Global Carbon Project. They were however 6% below the country's peak in 2015. According to Climate Action Tracker, UAE has an overall rating of "highly insufficient," meaning its projected emissions are not in line with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. pumps approximately 4 million barrels of crude a day and plans on expanding to 5 million barrels daily.
Each year, nations gather at the COP to discuss how Paris Agreement goals to limit global warming to just 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2050, can be achieved through international collaboration.
The 28th such conference, COP28, will be held in Dubai, Nov 30 to Dec. 12. The choice of country has drawn criticism given the nation's high, and growing level of crude production. The choice of al Jaber, CEO of the national oil company, has also drawn scorn. However, U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry has said he backs the UAE leader.
As president of this year's meeting, al-Jaber will have influence over how much pressure is brought to bear on those most reponsible for climate change, countries and companies that produce and burn coal, oil and gas.
Al-Jaber is the UAE minister of industry and advanced technology, and also serves as the chairman of Masdar, a renewable energy company.
Ceraweek attracts high level oil and gas officials each year and is hosted by S&P Global.
veryGood! (3845)
Related
- How to protect your Social Security number from the Dark Web
- I Tried 63 Highlighters Looking for a Natural Glow— Here Are the 9 Best Glitter-Free Highlighters
- Prince William Returns to Royal Duties 2 Days After Missing Public Appearance Due to Personal Matter
- Federal prosecutors seek July trial for Trump in classified files case
- 3 Iraqis tortured at Abu Ghraib win $42M judgement against defense contractor
- CDC finds flu shots 42% effective this season, better than some recent years
- Hacking at UnitedHealth unit cripples a swath of the U.S. health system: What to know
- LGBTQ+ advocacy group sues Texas AG, says it won’t identify transgender families
- Ready-to-eat meat, poultry recalled over listeria risk: See list of affected products
- Psst! Ann Taylor Has Secretly Chic Workwear Fits, and They’re Offering an Extra 30% off Sale Styles
Ranking
- Top Federal Reserve official defends central bank’s independence in wake of Trump win
- Police: Man who killed his toddler, shot himself was distraught over the slaying of his elder son
- How scientists are using facial-recognition AI to track humpback whales
- Why Israel uses diaspora bonds
- More than 150 pronghorns hit, killed on Colorado roads as animals sought shelter from snow
- Federal judge blocks Texas' SB4 immigration law that would criminalize migrant crossings
- Kim Zolciak's daughter Brielle is engaged, and her estranged husband Kroy Biermann played a role
- Bachelor’s Joey Graziadei Shares Gilbert Syndrome Diagnosis Causing His “Yellow Eyes”
Recommendation
-
California farmers enjoy pistachio boom, with much of it headed to China
-
See Joe Jonas and Stormi Bree Fuel Romance Rumors With Sydney Outing
-
Caitlin Clark changed the women's college game. Will she do the same for the WNBA?
-
Girl walking to school in New York finds severed arm, and police find disembodied leg nearby
-
'I was in total shock': Woman wins $1 million after forgetting lotto ticket in her purse
-
Missouri process server and police officer shot and killed after trying to serve eviction notice
-
Hatch watch is underway at a California bald eagle nest monitored by a popular online camera feed
-
Pat McAfee says comments calling out ESPN executive were a 'warning shot'