DAVOS, SWITZERLAND -- Stuart Gulliver , the boss of global bank HBSC , has made an impassioned plea to activists to stop demonizing the fossil fuel companies.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, Gulliver said it was dangerous to think that society should abandon the oil, gas and coal industry.

He warned of disastrous unintended consequences, in particular for developing countries, if the sector were ostracized, given that it is responsible for a huge numbers of jobs, money for pensions and tax revenues that fund education and health care.

He also said that the massive engineering skills in oil and gas were of great importance to developing countries.

Given the time it would take to scale up renewable energy, Gulliver said it was also important to recognize that coal, which is under greatest attack for its carbon emissions, would continue to be needed by developing countries for many years.