Adnoc CEO Sultan Al Jaber’s championing of “energy realism” at CERAWeek is still grabbing international headlines, with the Financial Times profiling Jaber while he was in the US. Jaber is advocating for a pragmatic energy policy that balances fossil fuels with renewables, with energy security and affordability remaining priorities, as he called for a shift away from ideological climate debates.

“It is time to make energy great again,” Al Jaber declared at the summit, arguing that oil and gas companies must be part of the climate solution. Reflecting on his COP28 presidency, he said the summit needed a “course correction” to bring the industry into the conversation.

The UAE has long pursued this dual-track strategy: Ahead of COP28, Mubadala transferred nearly a quarter of Masdar — among the world’s largest clean energy players — to Adnoc, giving the oil giant greater exposure to renewables as it ramps up oil production.