2023-12-03 20:38:35
The ongoing COP28 climate summit in Dubai came under intense controversy following its president, United Arab Emirates Industry Minister Sultan Al Jaber, stated that there is no “science” to support the idea that the elimination of Fossil fuels are key to avoiding the worst-case scenario of global warming.
“I am in no way joining any alarmist debate. There is no science, nor any scenario, that says phasing out fossil fuels is what will make it possible to reach 1.5°C” above the average temperature of the pre-industrial era, Al Jaber said. That is the limit set in the Paris Agreement
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Al Jaber, who is also CEO of the Emirati state oil and gas company ADNOC, made these statements on November 21, 9 days before the start of COP28. He did so during an online meeting in which Mary Robinson, former UN special envoy for climate change, participated, according to the British newspaper The Guardian and the Climate Information Center.
However, a spokesperson for the summit told EFE that Al Jaber “is clear” that fossil fuels must be progressively reduced and abandoned, something that is “inevitable.”
What the president of COP28 said regarding fossil fuels
Al Jaber’s statements caused enormous controversy at the summit. It is not the first time that his words – or his figure as head of COP28 – generate distrust and discomfort.
Even on the eve of the meeting, documents obtained by journalists from the Climate Information Center and the British BBC revealed that Al Jaber used his role in the meeting to secretly promote oil and gas trade with foreign government officials.
Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber at the center of a new controversy (Photo: REUTERS/Amr Alfiky)By: REUTERS
According to the British newspaper, during an online meeting, Robinson questioned the head of COP28 regarding whether he supported the need to end fossil fuels, the central theme of the debates at the climate summit that will conclude on the 12th of this month.
Al Jader’s response caused a real earthquake in environmentalism. “I am in no way joining any alarmist debate. “There is no science, no scenario, that says phasing out fossil fuels is what will make it possible to reach 1.5°C,” he stated.
Read also: Due to medical recommendation, the Pope will not travel to the COP28 climate summit in Dubai
Precisely, the Paris Agreement set the objective of temperature increase remaining between 1.5 degrees Celsius and 2 degrees Celsius in relation to the pre-industrial era.
“The 1.5 degree limit is only possible if we finally stop burning all fossil fuels. “We cannot save a burning planet with a hose of fossil fuels,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
What the UN panel of experts says regarding fossil fuels
The United Nations panel of experts, known as IPCC, concluded that fossil fuels – oil, gas and coal – are mainly responsible for greenhouse gas emissions and, therefore, for climate change, recalled the newspaper El País. from Madrid.
According to the roadmap proposed by that panel, by 2050 global use of coal, oil and gas will have to have been reduced by 100%, 60% and 70%, respectively, compared to 2019 levels, if you will. Ensure that the temperature does not exceed 1.5 degrees.
In that scenario, Al Jaber replied to Robinson’s question: “Please help me, show me the roadmap for a gradual elimination of fossil fuels that will allow sustainable socioeconomic development, unless you want to take the world back to the caves. ”.
Read also: COP28 opened with an expected agreement: the global fund for losses and damages was launched
In a video released by The Guardian, Al Jaber further stated that “the reduction and elimination of fossil fuels is inevitable, essential. But we have to be realistic, serious and pragmatic regarding it.”
COP 28 takes place in Dubai (Photo: Archyde.com)By: REUTERS
What was the clarification from a COP28 spokesperson?
After the controversy, a COP28 spokesperson said that the Emirati official has been “unwavering in stating that reaching 1.5 ºC implies acting in a series of areas and sectors.”
“The President of the COP is clear that the progressive reduction and abandonment of fossil fuels is inevitable and that we must keep 1.5ºC within our reach. We are not sure what this article supposedly reveals. There is nothing in it that is new or breaking news,” he stated.
“This story is nothing more than another attempt to undermine the Presidency’s agenda, which has been clear and transparent and backed by tangible achievements by the COP president and his team,” he said.
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