Cop28 president warns of ‘energy turmoil’ unless demand is tackled

Governments must be honest about the potential costs of transitioning to clean energy

Dr Sultan Al Jaber warned of ‘energy turmoil’ at a roundtable event in Paris (EPA)

Governments must address the costs of transitioning towards clean energy to avoid the world descending into “energy turmoil”, the president of last year’s Cop28 summit has warned.

Speaking at a roundtable event at the International Energy Agency in Paris, Dr Sultan Al Jaber said that those who had signed the UAE Consensus must be “honest and transparent” about the potential costs and trade-offs involved in the transition.

"Let me be clear, the energy transition will lead to energy turmoil, if we only address the supply side of the energy equation,” he said. “We must tackle the demand side at the same time."

“We cannot and should not pursue the energy transition by only looking and working on one side of the equation.”

His comments formed part of a speech towards ministers, industry executives and climate leaders which followed the unprecedented agreement made at the Cop28 summit in Dubai last year.

He urged countries to update their nationally determined contributions by 2025 (Reuters)

Known as the UAE Consensus, it laid out a clear roadmap to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre industrial levels, as well as an agreement to transition from fossil fuels, triple renewable energy by 2030 and a commitment to end deforestation in the same period.

“We must now turn an unprecedented agreement into unprecedented action. Now is the time for all stakeholders to step up,” he said.

Al Jaber, the chief executive of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), has previously come under scrutiny for continuing with a $150bn investment over seven years into oil and gas, which he said was to meet the continuing demand.

In Tuesday’s rountable, he called on countries to update their climate plans, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), and to adopt comprehensive emission reduction targets that cover all greenhouse gases and keep the 1.5C target in reach.

US climate envoy John Kerry warned that ‘everybody has to have a plan’ (Getty Images)

Following the 2015 landmark Paris agreement, the EU and 194 states committed to trying to limit global warming and agreed to update their NDCs every five years.

The worldwide demand for energy continues to grow, with oil company Exxon Mobil predicting that global demand will likely rise another 15%, proving it unlikely that carbon reduction targets will be met.

Earlier this month, the UAE said they would create a "troika" with Azerbaijan and Brazil, the hosts of the next two U.N. climate summits, to push countries to set ambitious emissions-cutting goals ahead of the next 2025 deadline.

"Everybody has to have a plan, and that is not where we are today," said U.S. climate envoy John Kerry at the IEA roundtable event. "In the end, there’s no faking it in this next period of time.”

Kerry, who has served as the US climate envoy for three years, announced plans in January to step away from the role some time this spring.