November 16: Energy ministers from across the developing world gathered in the emirate of Abu Dhabi on Monday and stressed the need for continued investment in fossil fuel production.

According to the Associated Press, such a message comes just days after these same nations joined around 200 countries in accepting a compromise deal aimed at limiting rising global temperatures and curbing greenhouse emissions.

Energy ministers from two key OPEC nations — the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia — reportedly pointed to the rising price of natural gas and the energy crunch this has created in Europe and China as examples of what happens when demand outstrips supply. They say this has raised the price of energy across the board, impacting oil prices now hovering around $80 a barrel, AP further reported.

“After almost a decade of under-investment in our industry, the world has sleepwalked into a supply crunch. It is time to wake up,” AP quoted Managing Director and CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company Sultan Al-Jaber as saying.

The remarks came at the start of the annual Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference.

Al-Jaber argued over $600 billion annually will need to be invested in the oil and gas industry until 2030 — just to keep up with expected global demand. Al-Jaber, who is also chairman of Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy firm Masdar, said that while a future run on renewable energy is coming “it is not here yet” and the world is still heavily reliant on oil and gas.

According to AP, US President Joe Biden's administration, while rallying nations to shift away from burning fossil fuels, has simultaneously called on OPEC to increase production as prices climb for consumers at the pump.

Major oil producers in the OPEC+ group have so far refused to veer from their gradual approach of restoring production levels slashed amid the pandemic of 2020.

Energy Minister of the UAE Suhail al-Mazrouei told the Associated Press that the OPEC+ group, which includes Russia and other non-OPEC oil producers, is relying on independent technical data that shows there will be a surplus of oil early next year.

The deal reached in Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday by nations around the world contained a last-minute change that watered down crucial language about coal, AP reported. According to the news agency,several countries expressed disappointment by the change promoted by India to “phase down,” rather than “phase out” coal power, the single biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions.

India's Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, reportedly warned against an energy transition that results in unrealistically high costs for consumers. He said it was important that the ADIPEC conference in Abu Dhabi was being held just after the COP26 summit in Glasgow so focus can be on “both on what the reality on the ground is and the need to manage the transition.”