COP28 President-Designate Dr. c convened a CEO roundtable on the sidelines of the UAE Climate Tech forum, bringing together oil and gas, heavy emitting industries, technology providers, bankers and financial institutions to discuss, debate and find tangible solutions to address the urgent need for decarbonisation and emissions reduction.

The roundtable follows the call to action the COP President made during his speech at CERA week in Houston in March 2023, where he called on the attendees across the industry to work collectively to reach net-zero by 2050 and net-zero methane emissions by 2030.

Dr. Al. Jaber also encouraged those in the room to support the decarbonisation pathways of other industries and adopt established frameworks for reporting and verifying emissions.

Dr. Al Jaber said, “The transition to a low and eventually no carbon economy will require a collective and concerted effort from all stakeholders. We need to reimagine the relationship between energy producers and industrial consumers, from one based purely on supply and demand to one that is focused on co-creating the future. We must create an active partnership between the largest producers of energy, the biggest industrial consumers, technology companies, the finance community, governments and civil society.

“Working together, the goal would be an accelerated, practical and just energy transition that leaves no one behind, particularly across the global south. In short, our goal must be to hold back emissions, not progress.”

Dr. Al Jaber highlighted the importance of collaboration, saying, “As the global population grows and the economies develop, the world will need similar levels of affordable and sustainable energy, not less. And it is the responsibility of the policymakers, industry leaders and innovators to work together under one umbrella to transform, decarbonise and future-proof.”

In the meeting, Dr. Al Jaber referenced the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Synthesis Report that has called for “deep, rapid and sustained greenhouse gas emissions reductions in all sectors”.

Dr. Al Jaber also pointed to the IPCC report, which clearly states that applying carbon capture technologies to heavy emitting industries is a critical enabler in the race to net zero alongside the application of other clean energies and technologies.

Dr. Al Jaber highlighted that “technology has the power to turn one of the greatest challenges we face today into one of the greatest opportunities for sustainable socio-economic growth.

“To maintain economic progress, while dramatically reducing emissions and meeting goals of the Paris Agreement, we need nothing short of a major course correction. We need breakthrough solutions, and the single most critical source of these solutions is technology.”

He emphasised the importance of breaking down “siloed thinking and building up an integrated creative partnership, calling for an end to finger-pointing and to focus on actions and targets.”

He highlighted the power of partnership and unity, saying, “Together, is the only way we will get to a low carbon pathway to a high growth destination.”

Dr. Al Jaber added, “The Paris Agreement united governments around what the world must do to meet the climate challenge. COP28 will focus on the ‘how’. We want COP28 to be a COP of practical action, pragmatic results and solutions. A COP of impact and a COP for All.”

He concluded, “The climate crisis is too big a challenge for any industry to confront alone, which is why we need an ‘all of the above effort’, to phase down emissions and phase up zero-carbon alternatives. Together, we can build a new economic development model based on putting an end to emissions, while breathing new life into economic growth.”

The CEO roundtable took place at UAE Climate Tech, a forum bringing together 1,500 global policymakers, innovators, financial institutions, bankers and industrial leaders aiming to progress the development and deployment of technological solutions to decarbonise economies and reduce emissions by at least forty-three per cent by 2030 in line with the IPCC report.