The world’s transition to clean energy sources must be “just” and funded by trade in hydrocarbons, the climate change minister of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates told AFP.
Mariam Almheiri was interviewed in France, where a fierce heatwave set record-breaking temperatures as western Europe withered under a scorching sun and wildfires that engulfed forests.
Experts blame climate change and forecast more frequent extreme weather events.
“It’s not a change. We’re not ready yet. And oil and gas will be part of the energy mix for some time to come,” she said in an interview on Monday when UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan visited Paris for energy talks.
“We need… a just transition because not every country is on the same level,” added the Minister for Climate Change and Environment, stressing that the UAE is using its oil and gas wealth to boost renewable sources.
“You have to build your equipment from the energy you have for it,” she said. “Clean and renewable energy costs money.”
The international community largely agrees that climate change poses an existential threat to the planet and the future of humanity.
But action to reduce carbon pollution and prepare for its accelerating impact is lagging behind, as is support for vulnerable countries facing the ravages of a changing climate.
– ‘We will provide’ –
Adding to the pressure was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has pushed up food and energy prices.
Western sanctions aimed at shutting down major energy producer Russia have resulted in significantly higher fuel costs in Europe and the United States, sending inflation skyrocketing.
This has prompted the United States and Europe to try to persuade oil-rich countries like the United Arab Emirates to increase energy supplies to bring prices back under control.
“Look at what we’re going through right now. Months ago people were pointing fingers at us and saying, ‘Why are you still producing?’ Now they come to say, ‘Please produce, please produce.’”
As the leading oil producer in OPEC, the UAE’s rapid growth since the 1970s has been fueled by its energy wealth.
But the desert country of one million locals and nine million foreigners, which has diversified its economy over the decades, is less and less dependent on gasoline, and revenues now account for just 30 percent of GDP.
At the same time, she predicts that the oil and gas industry would need to invest over $600 billion each year through 2030 just to keep up with expected demand.
“We are a country that has oil and gas as natural resources. We have no water… as long as the world needs oil and gas, we will supply it,” Almheiri said.
The country was built on oil but is spending billions to develop enough renewable energy to meet half of its needs by 2050.
It is building two of the world’s largest solar power plants in the capitals of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
It has also joined the nuclear club with its Barakah nuclear power plant, the first in the Arab world.
And last year it launched a “strategic initiative” aimed at achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
– Two-pronged approach –
Meteorologists predict more frequent and more intense extreme weather events for the coming years.
“The increase in the frequency, duration and intensity of these events over the past several decades is clearly linked to the observed warming of the planet and can be attributed to human activities,” the World Meteorological Organization said.
Future heatwaves will largely depend on how quickly the global economy can be decarbonized.
While several cities in France recorded their highest temperatures ever on Monday, the Gulf region is also at risk.
In the region, summer means suffering for all those who work outside, along with the risk of dehydration, heat stroke and heart failure.
The countries of the high-energy Gulf have banned working outdoors during the hottest hours of the day.
A study in the journal Nature Climate Change found that parts of the Gulf region could be hit by “unprecedented events of deadly heat as a result of climate change” later this century.
Almheiri said her country, which is hosting next year’s UN climate change conference COP28, has taken a “two-pronged approach” and advocated further investment in oil and gas.
“We’re expanding our renewable energy because we have goals we want to achieve and we’re decarbonizing our oil and gas.”
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