The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is planning a major expansion of its oil and gas production, but the country's energy minister has said that it is still committed to tackling climate change. The UAE's state-owned oil company, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), has announced plans to invest $400 billion over the next decade to boost oil and gas production.
The expansion would see Adnoc's oil production capacity increase by 50% to 5 million barrels per day by 2030, and its gas production capacity increase by 60% to 200 billion cubic feet per day.
The UAE's plans to expand oil and gas production have been met with criticism from environmental groups, who say that they are inconsistent with the country's commitment to tackling climate change.
The UAE is a signatory to the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
However, the UAE's oil and gas expansion plans would see the country produce an additional 100 billion barrels of oil and 100 trillion cubic feet of gas by 2030.
This would release an additional 4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, equivalent to the annual emissions of Germany.
The UAE's energy minister, Suhail al-Mazrouei, has said that the country is committed to meeting its climate goals, but that it also needs to ensure that its economy remains strong.
"We are committed to meeting our climate goals, but we also need to ensure that our economy remains strong," he said. "We need to balance these two objectives."
The UAE's plans to expand oil and gas production are likely to be controversial, but they also highlight the challenges that countries face in trying to meet their climate goals while also ensuring economic growth.
The UAE's plans to expand oil and gas production have been met with criticism from environmental groups, who say that they are inconsistent with the country's commitment to tackling climate change.
The UAE is a signatory to the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
However, the UAE's oil and gas expansion plans would see the country produce an additional 100 billion barrels of oil and 100 trillion cubic feet of gas by 2030.
This would release an additional 4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, equivalent to the annual emissions of Germany.
The UAE's energy minister, Suhail al-Mazrouei, has said that the country is committed to meeting its climate goals, but that it also needs to ensure that its economy remains strong.
"We are committed to meeting our climate goals, but we also need to ensure that our economy remains strong," he said. "We need to balance these two objectives."
The UAE's plans to expand oil and gas production are likely to be controversial, but they also highlight the challenges that countries face in trying to meet their climate goals while also ensuring economic growth.