PARIS: The head of French firm TotalEnergies says national oil giants from the Gulf and other nations must pull their weight against global warming, and the Emirati oil executive chairing the COP28 climate summit is right man to press them.

The appointment of Sultan al-Jaber as head of the COP28 talks to be held in Dubai later this year has been controversial because he heads the United Arab Emirates’ Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

But TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanne told AFP that Jaber “is trying to level up the discussions and he knows well what the expectations are on this”.

The French firm, like other Western oil majors such as BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell, has been hit with criticism and lawsuits for continuing to invest heavily in fossil fuel extraction.

The International Energy Agency says no new oil projects can be launched if the world is to reach net zero carbon emissions by mid-century and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Pouyanne, however, insisted the world will continue to need fossil fuels to meet growing energy demand from developing nations.

Western oil and gas firms no longer dominate the world energy markets, accounting for 15 percent of total output in 2018.

More than half of global production came from national oil companies such as those controlled by Gulf nations, China, Iran and Russia, according to the IEA.

Jaber has brushed off criticism over his appointment, noting he founded the UAE’s national renewable energies firm Masdar in 2006 and has represented his country a dozen COP meetings.