Abu Dhabi: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates said on Monday, just days before the COP27 climate summit aimed at curbing global warming, the world needs to continue investing in oil production. Sultan Al Jaber, head of UAE oil giant ADNOC, has warned that the lack of investment will shock the global economy and the recent cramp could look like a “small tremor.” Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Abdul Aziz bin his Prince Salman said both Gulf states are ramping up production capacity.
Sultan Al Jaber, Managing Director and Group CEO of ADNOC and UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change, said the world’s growing population will require 30% more energy by 2050. Not oil and gas, solar, wind, nuclear, hydrogen, etc…all of the above,” Al Jaber said.
Both officials insist oil remains the cornerstone of our energy supply, but said they were working to reduce emissions and increase production from renewable or less polluting sources.OPEC+ Group cut oil production this month in defiance of pleas from Western leaders, including US President Joe Biden, but long-term energy demand is likely to be higher, they said.
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“Due to natural declines, zero investment in hydrocarbons would result in a loss of 5 million barrels of oil a day each year from current supplies,” Al-Jarber said. “This will make the shock we experienced this year feel like a small shake. Al Jaber warned that meeting a world population of 9.7 billion by 2050 will require increased energy production.
The Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) kicks off a week before COP27, with delegates from nearly 200 countries participating in the latest round of climate negotiations. Last year, his COP26 concluded with a pledge to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius below pre-industrial levels.
According to the United Nations, fossil fuels are the biggest contributor to climate change, accounting for 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions. But with gasoline prices and inflation soaring in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Western countries are demanding more production. In March, Prince Abdulaziz defended OPEC+ by saying the alliance had eased oil market turmoil. “If OPEC had not come together and not existed, the volatility would have been much worse,” he said at a conference in Dubai.