Decarbonization has become a key topic in the fight against climate change.
Sultan Al Jaber, President-designate of the COP28 Conference of the Parties, had announced the necessity of developing credible decarbonization plans, praising the commitment of 20 oil and gas companies to the call directed at them to end methane emissions by 2030.
This is an additional step to the global methane pledge approved by the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26 in Britain in 2021, which the UAE joined last year and in which the Gulf Cooperation Council, Iraq and North African countries participate, with the exception of Algeria, according to a study prepared by the Energy Policy Center. Global University at Columbia University in the United States.
This agreement requires methane emissions to be reduced by 30 percent by 2030.
Double importance
Decarbonization in the Middle East and GCC region is of great importance, as they are experiencing increasing pressure to update their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and national plans for oil and gas companies.
Yahya Anouti, partner at (Strategy&) and head of the sustainability department at (PwC), told CNN that oil companies in the region are distinguished by producing gas and oil with a low emissions rate compared to other oil-producing countries.
He added that the region is historically famous for producing and exporting oil and gas, pointing out that the Middle East is rich in renewable energy, which puts the region in a competitive and pioneering position.
Anouti pointed out that the cost of producing renewable energy in the region is low, amounting to about 50 percent of the global price, which will allow the Middle East to play an important role in exporting clean electricity, hydrogen, and industries that need large amounts of energy, such as the production of iron, steel, titanium, and aluminium.
He said that the process of exporting these products in a green way will contribute to reducing carbon emissions, especially in these sectors that are considered to have a high carbon production intensity.
The second importance of the decarbonization path is that it coincides with the COP28 conference, which begins at the end of this month, and also in light of the intensification of investments and spending on renewable energy in the Middle East region.
The Global Energy Investment Report 2023 – published by the International Energy Agency – expects that global investment in clean energy is likely to grow after recording more than $1.7 trillion last year.
the bell of danger
According to the Net Zero Economy 2023 report issued by PwC, the world is seriously lagging behind in achieving the ambition required to secure a safe climate in the future. The report showed that what is required today is to achieve a rate of decline in carbon intensity of 17.2 percent annually until 2050. This aims to limit average global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, seven times what it is today.
The report pointed out that the rate of decarbonization in the G20 countries has only exceeded 11 percent since 2000.
The report urged the need to work harder to reduce emissions by 43 percent by 2030, while reducing carbon intensity by 78 percent.
2023-11-14 14:26:54
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