/ground-report/media/post_banners/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Source-Canva-46.jpg)
The appointment of oil sheikh Al Jaber as the president of the climate summit sparked immediate concerns, and his subsequent remarks, which seemed to question the need to phase out fossil fuels for climate protection, only heightened the debate. Initially, he claimed that there was no scientific basis for eliminating fossil fuels to safeguard the environment. However, the ensuing backlash has led him to amend his statement.
Sultan Al Jaber, the president of the Dubai Climate Summit, clarified on Monday that he holds a deep respect for and belief in science. He emphasized that science has been the guiding force throughout his life and is the cornerstone of the COP28 presidency’s principles and strategy.
“Science has guided my life . Science has guided the principled strategy in the COP28 presidency,” Al Jaber repeated several times in a press conference in which he was accompanied by the president of the UN group of climate scientists (IPCC), Jim Skea.
Sultan Al Jaber sparks controversy at COP28
Al Yaber tried to counteract the effects caused by the broadcast of a video recorded on November 21, shortly before the start of the summit. In the video, he affirmed that there is no science that says leaving fossil fuels will lead to achieving 1.5 degrees. He used these words and staged this with Skea to counteract the effects.
"There is no science, nor any scenario, that says that the progressive elimination of fossil fuels is what will allow us to reach 1.5ºC," said the sultan a few days ago.
“I am in no way joining any alarmist debate. There is no science, nor any scenario, that says that the progressive elimination of fossil fuels is what will allow us to reach 1.5ºC,” he stated on November 21 during an online meeting on the preparations for COP28.
Now, however, he has pointed out: “Science says that global emissions have to drop 43% by 2030 and that we must be net zero emissions in 2050 to maintain the objective of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees per year.” end of the century.”
“ Everything my team and I do is around science,” insisted Al Jaber, who after reviewing all the progress already made in the negotiations, has assured that there is a lot of hope and optimism among the negotiating parties and we cannot lose this chance.
"Surprised" by the criticism of him
"In this context, the Emirati senior manager of the Abu Dhabi state oil company ADNOC expressed great surprise at the constant and repeated attempts to undermine the work of the COP28 presidency. He reaffirmed his belief that the reduction and abandonment of fossil fuels is inevitable."
“I sincerely believe that there is confusion and misunderstanding,” Al Jaber said about himself. He used the press conference as an opportunity to present his resume, highlighting his profession as an engineer and underlining that science is “my passion and conviction.” This passion and conviction have enabled him to advance his career.
However, he has pointed out that as president of COP28 he has no “red lines” when it comes to conducting negotiations and that it is the parties who must reach agreements.
For this reason, he has encouraged the delegations to find meeting points and work to provide the “most ambitious” response to the challenge of facing the Global Balance or GST (in English).
"Please help me achieve this goal. Al Jaber urged the press, "I am committed and determined to give the most ambitious response to the Global Balance."
COP28 aims to address Global Stocktake
COP28 must close what is known as GST, whose ultimate goal is to correct the deviation from the objectives of the Paris Agreement, in which the parties committed to work to limit warming to 2 degrees and, if possible, 1.5 degrees.
For his part, Skea has stressed that what the IPCC report on fossil fuels says exactly is that, to maintain the 1.5 degree goal, their use must be considerably reduced in all the scenarios that scientists consider.
By type of fuel, by 2050, the use of coal without mitigation (technologies that allow the capture of the CO2 emitted) will completely disappear, that of oil will be reduced by 60% and that of gas by 45%, Skea said.
In his conversations with Al Jaber, the topic has been “exclusively science,” explained the president of the IPCC, who added that the president of COP28 “has been attentive to science and I think he has understood it completely.”
“Don't go any further, the facts are there,” stated the head of the IPCC, an organization that periodically issues reports on the state of the climate.
Keep Reading
- IMD forecasts above-normal winter temperatures across India
- Drought Map: 23 countries in emergency, including India
- Climate chaos: 2023 breaks records, signaling global climate emergency
- Agricultural disasters cost farmers Rs 10.2 lakh crore every year
Follow Ground Report for Climate Change and Under-Reported issues in India. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Koo App, Instagram, Whatsapp and YouTube. Write us on [email protected].
