Al Jaber: “COP 28 will be the first comprehensive assessment of Paris Agreement goals”

The upcoming 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) in the UAE will mark the first comprehensive assessment of progress against the goals of the Paris Agreement, or global stocktake, said Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, President-Designate for COP28 and the UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change. In his speech at the Global Energy Forum organised by the Atlantic Council, held at Abu Dhabi on Saturday, Al Jaber said, “We are way off track. The world is playing catch up when it comes to the key Paris goal of holding global temperatures down to 1.5 degrees. And the hard reality is that in order to achieve this goal, global emissions must fall 43% by 2030.” To add to that challenge, he said, “we must decrease emissions at a time of continued economic uncertainty, heightened geopolitical tensions and increasing pressure on energy security.” Al Jaber, who also serves as Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and as the Managing Director and Group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, said t here is no other way to really address the climate challenge and emphasised the need to make transformational progress. The UAE wants COP 28 to transform systems and accelerate 2030 trajectories through game-changing partnerships and solutions as well as real tangible outcomes. “We want it to be a COP of solidarity that bridges the Global North and South and includes public and private sectors, scientists and civil society, women and youth. And we want it to be a practical COP, a COP of action, a COP for all, a COP that raises ambition and moves from goals to actually getting it done across mitigation adaptation, loss and damage and, of course, finance,” he said. He stated that over the past 15 years, the UAE has invested a total of $50 billion in renewable energy and cleantech globally, and it plans to invest another $50 billion in the years ahead. He added that over 70% of the UAE’s economy is now generated outside the oil and gas sector. Al Jaber said that the UAE has always considered environmental stewardship an integral part of its economy and views climate action as central to the successful development of the nation. “We are proud to be the host country of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the first country in our region to commit to the Paris Agreement, the first in the region to submit a nationally determined contribution, and the first to set out a road map to net zero,” he said. He also called for renewable energy generation to be tripled from 8 to 23 terawatt hours by 2030 and low carbon hydrogen production to be doubled to at least 180 million tonnes. “We are at a turning point in history. Low carbon growth is the future. But we must get there much faster,” he said, adding, “Let us together create a paradigm shift for tangible progress. And let us remember that reaching net zero emissions will deliver the biggest market transformation with the greatest economic and human promise since the first Industrial Revolution.” (Writing by Sunil S; editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com )

Al Jaber: “COP 28 will be the first comprehensive assessment of Paris Agreement goals”

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