ABU DHABI - A top Emirati oil executive said on Monday that more than 20 oil and gas companies were rallying around his calls to curb carbon emissions ahead of a United Nations summit on climate change.

"For too long, this industry has been viewed as part of the problem, that it's not doing enough and in some cases even blocking progress," COP28 president Sultan al-Jaber said at an oil and gas conference in Abu Dhabi.

"This is your opportunity to show the world that, in fact, you are central to the solution," he said, addressing major energy companies.

Jaber said that more than 20 oil and gas companies had positively answered calls to align around net zero by 2050, zero out methane emissions and eliminate routine flaring by 2030. He did not elaborate.

The COP28 summit is scheduled to take place in Dubai between Nov. 30 and Dec. 12.

(Reporting by Maha El Dahan, Yousef Saba and Alexander Cornwell in Abu Dhabi; Writing by Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Louise Heavens)