World still needs hydrocarbons: COP28 president designate Sultan al Jaber

In first international trip since controversial appointment, Jaber assures support for India's energy plan

The world needs hydrocarbons as a bridge from the current energy system to the new one, said COP28 president designate Sultan al Jaber, in his first major public address,

"We cannot unplug the current energy system before we have built the new one," Jaber said at India Energy Week in Bengaluru on Tuesday. He pitched for the need to invest only in the least carbon-intensive barrels and continue reducing their intensity.

Jaber's appointment at the COP28, an annual global conference for finding climate change solutions, has been controversial since he is also the head of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company