US, UAE Focus on Using Climate Change to Drive Global Growth

US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry with Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the Special Envoy for Climate Change and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology in Abu Dhabi. (WAM)
US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry with Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the Special Envoy for Climate Change and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology in Abu Dhabi. (WAM)
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US, UAE Focus on Using Climate Change to Drive Global Growth

US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry with Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the Special Envoy for Climate Change and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology in Abu Dhabi. (WAM)
US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry with Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the Special Envoy for Climate Change and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology in Abu Dhabi. (WAM)

The UAE and the US held talks that focused on using climate change action to drive regional and global growth.

The Special Envoy for Climate Change and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, and US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry met in Abu Dhabi.

The two envoys discussed progress on the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate Initiative (Aim for Climate) that the UAE announced alongside the US at the Leaders Summit on Climate in Washington.

The envoys reaffirmed their countries’ commitment to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming.

They agreed that a comprehensive approach - including investments in renewable energy, carbon-capture technologies, nature-based solutions, climate-smart agriculture, and other low-carbon solutions - is not only essential in this critical decade for climate but can also act as powerful drivers for sustainable economic growth and job creation.

“His return to the Emirates reaffirms the unique partnership between our two countries and our shared commitment to transform climate action into an opportunity for economic development and diversification,” Jaber said.

“Doubling down on investments in innovative new technologies and R&D will pay dividends both in terms of climate progress and economic growth, and as global economies fully recover from Covid-19, smart initiatives can put the world on a low-carbon/high-growth trajectory that meets the Paris goals.”

Kerry welcomed the UAE’s offer to host the 28th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (or Cop28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2023.

“I think it is very important that an oil and gas producing nation is smart enough to see that investing in alternative and renewable energy does not detract from economic prosperity or from income,” Kerry added.

“It actually builds additional and alternative sources. I think the leadership of the UAE is well aware that the planet has very serious problems, and the UAE is very busy looking at ways to abate and reduce and capture emissions.”

“I think that’s one of the reasons the UAE won a seat on the UN Security Council, because people see the leadership of the UAE as thoughtful and wanting to contribute to global solutions to global problems,” he concluded.



Abu Dhabi's XRG Targets Gas, LNG Capacity of 20-25 Million Tons a Year by 2035

Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President, speaks at the United Nations climate change conference COP29 opening in Baku, Azerbaijan November 11, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President, speaks at the United Nations climate change conference COP29 opening in Baku, Azerbaijan November 11, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
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Abu Dhabi's XRG Targets Gas, LNG Capacity of 20-25 Million Tons a Year by 2035

Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President, speaks at the United Nations climate change conference COP29 opening in Baku, Azerbaijan November 11, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President, speaks at the United Nations climate change conference COP29 opening in Baku, Azerbaijan November 11, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

XRG, the international investment arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), is aiming to have a gas and LNG business with a capacity of between 20 million and 25 million metric tons a year by 2035, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

XRG was set up last year as an investment company focused on lower-carbon energy, gas and chemicals, with assets of more than $80 billion.

On Tuesday, its board, whose members include former BP CEO Bernard Looney and Blackstone's Jon Gray, approved the capacity target and a new five-year business plan.

Board members also supported the assessment of potential gas acquisitions and LNG opportunities in North America, Reuters reported.

ADNOC's current US investments already sit under XRG, and the oil giant's Chief Executive Sultan Al Jaber said in March that XRG would make a significant investment in US natural gas in coming months.

XRG has also changed the name of its low carbon energies platform to Energy Solutions to reflect the full scope of the company's strategy, including energy demand linked to artificial intelligence and the digital economy, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday.

The board "endorsed the company's ambition to create a top three global chemicals platform," XRG said.

ADNOC had agreed in October to buy German chemicals maker Covestro for 14.7 billion euros ($16.73 billion) including debt. Jaber later said it would sit under XRG.