Petro Diplomacy 2024: The Countdown to Net Zero

For the 10th consecutive year, AGSIW convened its Petro Diplomacy conference, bringing together private and public sector stakeholders from the United States, Europe, and the Gulf Arab countries to discuss emerging trends in energy markets and regional politics.   

At the end of 2023, the United Arab Emirates hosted what was widely hailed as a successful United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP28, in Dubai, where nearly 200 parties agreed to transition away from fossil fuels and step up renewable energy investments. The U.N. stated that the outcome of COP28 signaled the “beginning of the end” of the fossil fuel era. Also included in the first global stocktake – a mechanism to measure countries’ progress in achieving their climate commitments – since the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement was recognition that global greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut by 43% from 2019 levels by 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Where does this leave the Gulf Arab oil and gas producers, and what further action is needed to align their policies with the goals set out at COP28?  

The countdown has begun to turn these pledges into actionable policies, an imperative for a region that is extremely vulnerable to climate change and where oil and gas have for decades been the main drivers of their economies. Amid the devastating war in Gaza, the Middle East is again in the eye of the storm. The crisis has disrupted international trade flows and endangered the free flow of energy from the region, but it must not distract from the climate crisis. The next few years will be pivotal for the region and the broader international community as the world’s energy architecture is recalibrated to meet net-zero ambitions. AGSIW will convene senior officials and experts to discuss the various options for the Gulf Arab states to manage an accelerated transition that the U.N. says can no longer be stopped or reversed. 

The views represented herein are the author's or speaker's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of AGSI, its staff, or its board of directors.