Abu Dhabi (AFP)

In the vast air-conditioned rooms of a conference center in Abu Dhabi, the words "ecological transition" are in everyone's mouth, but for many Gulf countries, fossil energy still has a future, at least in the short term. term.

At the World Energy Congress this week, many Gulf executives and officials admit the need to tackle climate change and switch to renewable energy.

But for them, fossil fuels remain relevant, at least for the next decades.

The issue was central to the rally in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, which has seen many officials call for carbon reductions.

Speakers discussed the role of nuclear power, hydrogen and other unconventional sources of energy as fossil fuels continue to account for more than three quarters of the world's energy consumption.

- Addicted to oil -

Delegates from oil-producing countries - especially those from the Gulf - argued that new energies alone could not meet demand.

"For decades to come, the world will continue to depend on oil and gas as the main source of energy," Abu Dhabi Oil Co. chief Sultan al-Jaber said.

"About 11,000 billion dollars (10,000 billion euros) of investment in oil and gas are needed to meet the demand", over the next two decades, he said at the congress gathered representatives of 150 countries and more than 400 business owners.

In a decade, renewable energy production has quadrupled globally. But total energy demand, especially from developing countries, has increased by 10 percent, according to a UN report released last week.

"All energy transitions, including this one, take decades, with many challenges ahead," said CEO of Saudi giant Aramco Amin Nasser.

Adding that his country supported the development of alternative energies, he criticized the policies adopted by many governments that do not respect "the need for an orderly transition".

Oil contributes at least 70% of revenues to the Gulf countries, which have invested tens of billions of dollars in clean energy projects, mainly in the solar and nuclear sectors.

Dubai has launched the world's largest solar energy project, costing $ 13.6 billion (12.3 billion euros) and capacity to meet a quarter of the current needs of the world. emirate, when the project will be operational in 2030.

- "Political will" -

But critics say oil dependence is hard to give up, especially when reserves are plentiful and investment in new energy is sometimes seen as unhelpful.

"It is economically, technically and technologically feasible to switch from dirty fossil fuel to renewable energy on a global scale, and only the political will is lacking," said Julien Jreissati of the NGO Greenpeace.

While the United Arab Emirates has several plans of action, Saudi Arabia is lagging behind "because its plans remain a dead letter," he said in an email to AFP.

"There is no doubt that the world will leave (one day) the oil behind him.The only question is when," insisted Mr. Jreissati.

Despite technological progress, renewable energy accounts for only about 18% of the global energy mix and nuclear 6%.

Over the past decade, wind and solar power have grown rapidly, with production costs falling to levels close to those of oil and gas.

The Abu Dhabi conference saw calls for innovation to hasten the transition as the world prepares for peak demand between 2020 and 2025, according to the World Energy Council.

Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid argued for a global new energy policy and "putting all green technologies into practice globally".

"If that happens, we could become CO2-free energy consumers in five, ten or twenty years," she said at the conference.

© 2019 AFP