Cop28 president to plough on with record levels of oil and gas production

Cop28 is the first time in the history of the 28 Cop summits that fossil fuel reduction has been mentioned in the final agreement of 198 countries from around the world, but falls far short of the "phasing out" of oil, gas, and coal that environmental groups, scientists, and many countries wanted.

Mr al-Jaber's presidency of the Cop28 summit in Dubai was contentious from the beginning, with environmental activists such as Greta Thunberg calling the idea of him leading the summit as host "ridiculous" due to his ties to oil and gas. 

He has now told The Guardian, following Cop28, that his firm would be a "responsible, reliable supplier of low-carbon energy" as it goes ahead with a massive ramping-up of its oil and gas operations.

At the end of the day, remember, it is the demand that will decide and dictate what sort of energy source will help meet the growing global energy requirements.

Mr al-Jaber said, without providing evidence, that "low-carbon" oil can be “extracted efficiently and with less leakage than other sources”.

Director and editor of climate change watchdog website Carbon Brief, Leo Hickman, said Mr al-Jaber's "mask has slipped", and that there is no such thing as low-carbon oil. 

Mr al-Jaber, who is head of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), the 12th-largest oil-producing firm in the world, told chair of the Elders Mary Robinson in a contentious online exchange before Cop28 that there is "no science" behind the aim of reducing fossil fuels if global warming is to be kept to 1.5C compared to the 1850-1900 age, in direct contradiction to the almost unanimous consensus of global scientists.

Cop28 was beset by claims that the summit was hijacked by fossil fuel lobbyists, in direct contravention of the aims of the event, which is to find global consensus on how to best combat climate change.

There were nearly 2,500 fossil fuel delegates in Dubai trying to influence proceedings, more than the combined passes of 10 of the countries across the world that are most vulnerable to climate change, and seven times the number given to delegates from indigenous people.

Scientists have long argued that the evidence shows that phasing out fossil fuels as well as ramping up clean and renewable energy is necessary if global warming is to be kept to 1.5C.

According to the Paris Agreement of 2015, reached at Cop21, a 1.5C rise in temperatures was set as the limit for the rise globally compared to 1850-1900, in order to stave off the very worst fallout from climate change.

The Elders group, made up of statesmen and women from around the world such as former Irish president Mary Robinson and former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, said following the Cop28 agreement that "the actions agreed in Dubai are too little, too late".

"World leaders need more urgent ambition in addressing the existential threat of the climate crisis, and supporting the most vulnerable," the Elders said.