The UAE holds a major oil and gas conference just ahead of hosting UN COP28 climate talks in Dubai. The UAE holds a major oil and gas conference just ahead of hosting UN COP28 climate talks in Dubai. The Emirati president-designate of the upcoming United Nations COP28 climate talks called on oil and gas companies on Monday to be “central to the solution” to fighting climate change, even as the industry boosts its production to enjoy rising global energy prices.

The call by Sultan al-Jaber highlights the gap between climate activists suspicious of his industry ties and his calls to drastically slash the world’s emissions by nearly half in seven years to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) compared with pre-industrial times.

“That is our North Star. It is in fact our only destination,” al-Jaber said. “It is simply acknowledging and respecting the science.”

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