ADIPEC 2023 opens with calls for greater collaboration on decarbonisation

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, COP28 President-Designate and UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, on Monday delivered the keynote address during the ADIPEC 2023 Opening Ceremony, stating the energy industry “can and must help drive the solutions”.

ADIPEC, the world’s largest energy exhibition and conference, opened on Monday, rallying industries and diverse actors around a common cause – ‘Decarbonising. Faster. Together.’ Over four days, the event will accelerate collective action and solutions to address the biggest climate and energy challenges the world faces today.

Being held in Abu Dhabi from 2-5 October, ADIPEC 2023 has gathered over 160,000 attendees from 160 countries. More than 40 ministers and 120 global C-suite executives will contribute to the 350-plus conference sessions, addressing the key energy transition priorities, including tackling methane and carbon emissions, scaling up investment in technology and renewables, decarbonising heavy industries and the development of future leaders.

Addressing the need to accelerate the energy transition, Dr Al Jaber said: “Today at ADIPEC from Abu Dhabi, I say with full confidence: this industry can and must help drive the solutions. For too long, this industry has been viewed as part of the problem, that it’s not doing enough and in some cases even blocking progress. This is your opportunity to show the world that, in fact, you are central to the solution”.

Speaking on the role of ADIPEC in the global energy transition, His Excellency Suhail Bin Mohamed Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, said: “International collaboration is crucial to addressing energy challenges. ADIPEC serves as an ideal platform to take the collective decarbonisation drive to the next level, and we are happy to share our experience with other countries. Having one of the fastest-growing clean energy industries in the world, the UAE is set to generate a total capacity of 19.8 gigawatts of clean energy by 2030. In addition, the UAE seeks to become a leading producer and supplier of low-carbon hydrogen, working towards producing 1.4 million metric tonnes of low-carbon hydrogen per annum by 2031 and 15 million metric tonnes per annum by 2050.”

Echoing Dr Al Jaber’s call to action, Tayba Al Hashemi, Chair of ADIPEC 2023 and CEO of ADNOC Offshore, said: “By 2030, the world will be home to an additional half a billion people, demanding more energy every year. At the same time, the global challenge of climate change calls for urgent, game-changing solutions to eliminate emissions. Every government, industry, business and individual has a role to play in decarbonising quicker, and creating the future of energy, faster, while safeguarding energy security and ensuring nobody is left behind.

“Decarbonising, faster, together, is not just the theme of ADIPEC 2023, it is a rallying call to industry to work together to transform, decarbonise and future-proof our industry. We want to accelerate the innovation and tangible actions needed to enable a lower-carbon and higher-growth future for the world.”

The ADIPEC Opening Ceremony also included pledges from leading global CEOs across the energy industry, reaffirming their commitment to concrete actions that will enable decarbonisation and the energy transition. Ten CEOs featured from across the world showcased the industry’s unified approach to driving investment and partnerships to accelerate the global energy transition and stimulate innovation.

Commenting on the commitment, Amin H. Nasser, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aramco said: “At Aramco, we believe that energy security and sustainability can co-exist. We remain committed to helping supply the world's growing energy needs as we also expand our efforts to develop lower-carbon solutions that will provide future generations with cleaner and more sustainable energy.”

The ADIPEC Opening Ceremony included a ministerial panel on the subject of ‘Fast Tracking the Energy Transition’, which brought together H.E. Suhail Mohammed Faraj Al Mazroui; H.E. Haitham Al Ghais, Secretary General of OPEC, H.E. Dr Alparslan Bayraktar, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Türkiye, and H.E. Sebastian-Ioan Burduja, Minister of Energy, Romania, to discuss how to accelerate the energy transition.

The panel explored how innovative policies and inclusive practices are the key to meeting increasing energy demands and achieving net zero emissions. The panel also agreed on the important role that governments must play in driving both collaboration and investment. Ministers remarked on the importance of facilitating a just low-carbon future, simultaneously reducing emissions and driving economic growth.

Addressing the need for pragmatism, H.E. Al Mazrouei, said: “We need to keep the politics aside, and as OPEC, work as a technical group”. Echoing his remarks, H.E. Haitham Al Ghais said: “We have to have a clear roadmap of where we’re going, and how to get there”. The ministers from Türkiye and Romania also discussed the initiatives underway in their respective countries designed to facilitate a transition to a cleaner energy system.

Over four days, ADIPEC 2023 will feature 10 conferences – including a new, hydrogen-focused conference and an expanded strategic decarbonisation conference – that will address a range of themes such as energy security, mobilising finance and investment, and developing a zero-carbon value chain. Across 16 exhibition halls, ADIPEC will gather over 2,200 companies and feature 30 country pavilions and four specialised areas focused on facilitating cross-sector collaboration and game-changing partnerships.

Taking place less than two months before the UAE welcomes global leaders for COP28, ADIPEC 2023 provides a platform for the biggest energy producers and consumers to demonstrate their commitment to lowering emissions while driving investment into new technologies and clean energies. The event is an opportunity to bring to the fore the diverse challenges and needs of different energy markets from around the world and creates a global stage for solutions-oriented dialogue.