Jaber welcomed action by over 20 oil and gas companies to take steps to fight climate change. “Economies currently run on the equivalent of 250 million barrels of oil, gas, and coal every single day which we need to either replace or decarbonise,” he said at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC).

“The monumental task will require a system-wide transformation of entire economies, a complete paradigm shift and not business as usual.”

The move is significant because Jaber is also the group chief executive officer of state oil giant Abu Dhabi National Oil Corporation (ADNOC) and UAE’s economy is heavily dependent on fossil fuels.

Al Jaber’s call came a day after convening meetings of both demand and supply side businesses in Abu Dhabi.

“We must reimagine the relationship between producers and the heaviest consuming countries and sectors. Since March, I have been convening heavy emitting sectors alongside the energy industry, governments, civil society, NGOs, scientists, technologists and the financial community to accelerate decarbonization,” Jaber said.

“Industries can and must act. But they can’t act alone. Governments should be proactive in setting the right demand signals and dealing with critical issues like permitting,” he added.

HT reported on Monday that operationalising the loss and damage fund and setting out an energy pathway to keep the Paris Agreement goal of containing global temperature rise within 1.5 degrees Celsius are among the key parameters to determine the success of the upcoming UN climate summit to be held in Dubai later this year, a key official said.

The outcomes of the conference are particularly important because the combination of climate crisis and El Nino is leading to record global land and sea surface temperatures.

“We have spent a lot of time with partners, listening to them to understand where we can find success at COP28. In terms of negotiated outcomes, we need to deliver on the Global Stocktake, the Global Goal on Adaptation and operationalisation of the Loss and Damage fund. Those are mandated outcomes as well as the just transition work that we have to deliver,” Ambassador Majid Al Suwaidi, COP28 Director General from UAE, which holds the presidency for the summit this year, said during a briefing last week.

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