Obviously, in Abu Dhabi, the bigger it is, the better it goes.

Appointed president of COP28 on Thursday, the CEO of the United Arab Emirates' national oil company responded to criticism by calling for "focusing" on reducing CO2 emissions rather than attacking "progress" and energy industry.

“We are at a historic turning point.

Growth with lower CO2 emissions is the future,” said Sultan al-Jaber, also his country's industry minister.

“We are working with the energy industry to accelerate decarbonisation by reducing methane and developing hydrogen,” he added at an energy forum in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Emirates.

"Let's continue to focus on curbing emissions, not progress."

With a projected increase in the world's population, and the increased demand for energy it implies, "as long as the world uses hydrocarbons, we must ensure that they are as low in carbon intensity as possible", said the Emirati official.

Green energy advocates 'live in a dream', says Qatari energy minister

How to reduce CO2 emissions without touching its main emitter, namely the oil giants, Sultan al-Jaber does not say.

But as his country's special envoy for climate change and also boss of Masdar, the Emirati renewable energy company, he wants to be reassuring.

"The United Arab Emirates approach this task with humility, a strong sense of responsibility and a great sense of urgency", he assured, describing the fight against climate change as "central" for his country, risking be particularly affected, like the whole very hot region of the Gulf, rich in hydrocarbons.

Still, the Emirates sent the largest contingent of industry lobbyists to the COP27 organized in November in Egypt.

That this edition has failed to advance the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, to maintain the objective of limiting global warming.

And that the question of less use of fossil fuels has barely been mentioned in the texts.



Speaking at the same forum, Qatari Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi also defended the hydrocarbons sector, saying that green energy advocates lacked “realism”.

According to him, they "lived in a dream" that they could not "achieve".

In the face of climate change, "we must be realistic about what we can achieve," he said, as Qatar has been widely coveted in recent months by European countries seeking to do without Russian gas.

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