Physical Address
23,24,25 & 26, 2nd Floor, Software Technology Park India, Opp: Garware Stadium,MIDC, Chikalthana, Aurangabad, Maharashtra – 431001 India
By Aayushi Sharma
The new COP28 president of the United Arab Emirates declared that the phasedown of fossil fuels is inevitable, making a stronger statement than his earlier ones in which he advocated for reducing fossil fuel emissions rather than the fuels themselves.
Climate activists have criticized Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber for taking what they perceived to be a mild stance on fossil fuels, as he asked for the curbing of their emissions rather than eliminating their use. Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber also oversees the state oil company of the United Arab Emirates.
He said, “The phasedown of fossil fuels is inevitable. The speed at which this happens depends on how quickly we can phase up zero carbon alternatives, while ensuring energy security, accessibility and affordability,” at an event on the sidelines of the UN climate talks in Bonn.
Image Source: UNFCCC
About Bonn Climate Change Conference 2023
The Bonn Climate Change Conference was scheduled from 5 to 15th June 2023. The conference hosted a large number of mandated events and had discussions on issues of critical importance, like the global stocktake, just transition, loss and damage, global goal on adaptation and the mitigation work programme. The conference is expected to make progress on these issues and prepare draft decisions which would then be adopted at COP 28 in the UAE in December 2023.
The first ever global stocktake will be conducted at COP28 to assess how far humanity has come in achieving the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement to prevent global warming.
According to UNFCCC, “The global stocktake is a process for countries and stakeholders to see where they’re collectively making progress towards meeting the goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreement – and where they’re not.” At the Bonn conference, speakers from indigenous populations, local communities, businesses, cities, and civil society, including youth and children, discussed how they are addressing climate change and highlighted obstacles that must be overcome.
Is UAE’s stake on carbon neutral unusual?
The UN climate summit this year will be hosted by the UAE, and Sultan Al Jaber, the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), will serve as COP 28 President.
Sultan al-Jaber is in charge of the state-owned Adnoc. Source: BENJAMIN WESTHOFF/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The UAE has vowed to become carbon neutral by 2050, which is unusual for a nation whose economy is heavily dependent on the production of oil and gas. However, the UAE has not adequately defined how it will accomplish this goal or how it fits with Adnoc’s intentions to explore the country’s untapped oil and gas potential. (The UAE is known to have 111 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves.)
The Gulf monarchy’s influence extends beyond that of most western democracies thanks to Abu Dhabi’s pursuit of a multipolar foreign policy that balances long-standing security connections with western states with more recent commercial and oil relationships with nations like China, Russia, and India.
The Conflict
Al Jaber after facing huge criticism from various climate activists, in an interview said that his business ties would prove an asset in ensuring the private sector took the necessary action on the climate crisis.
COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber was criticized in posters at the climate change talks in Bonn.
Al Jaber has previously discussed the risks posed by climate change and the UAE’s ambitions to invest in sustainable energy, but his most recent remarks to the oil industry need further scrutiny. He has urged for an all-inclusive strategy that makes use of the knowledge of the oil and gas industry and has called for an increase in investments in fossil fuels of $600 billion every year until 2030.
Reference:
https://www.dw.com/en/bonn-climate-talks-set-stage-for-first-global-stocktake/a-65921301
https://www.ft.com/content/7b17bc43-f303-4039-a8d5-7e9825604a46
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/16/cop28-host-uae-climate-united-arab-emirates
