His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and President of COP28, stressed that the vision of the leadership has enabled the UAE to restore the world’s confidence in the international multilateral system, to enhance both climate efforts and economic and social development for all simultaneously, thus contributing to the protection of humanity and the planet. This came in his speech at the 8th Ministerial Meeting on Climate Action held in the Chinese city of Wuhan, in the presence of many ministers concerned with climate from around the world.
His Excellency called for the need for all parties that contributed to reaching the historic “UAE Agreement” to participate in implementing the commitments stipulated therein and transforming the nationally determined contributions into practical and comprehensive plans covering all areas of climate action, including reducing emissions and preventing deforestation to enhance sustainable economic and social development for all.
He said that the approach of solidarity and concerted efforts was the basis for the success of the COP28 presidency in reaching the historic “UAE Agreement” at the conclusion of the conference hosted by the UAE last December, and that it is currently contributing to achieving tangible positive results, pointing to the announcement of PetroChina, which represents about 3.5 percent of global oil production, to join the “Oil and Gas Sector Emissions Reduction Charter” launched during COP28 to accelerate the reduction of sector emissions. PetroChina joins 52 other companies committed to the charter, representing about 40 percent of global oil production, with the number of national oil companies exceeding 60 percent of them, which is the largest number ever of these companies committed to an initiative to reduce emissions.
The Charter calls on oil and gas companies to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, eliminate methane emissions and stop gas flaring by 2030, and adhere to global best practices for reducing emissions, while investing in building the future energy system. His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said that PetroChina’s commitment to the Charter is an important step that enhances China’s leading role in global emissions reduction efforts, and encourages more international institutions to join it. His Excellency pointed to the role of the conference presidency in motivating countries to transform their nationally determined contributions into effective plans that support implementation efforts and include areas of mitigation and adaptation in a balanced manner.
His Excellency added that the Troika of COP Presidencies contributes to unifying the efforts of COP28 with the presidencies of COP29, which Azerbaijan will host this year, and COP30, which Brazil will host next year, and plays an important role in building the political momentum needed to achieve climate action goals. He pointed out the need for all sectors to focus on enhancing climate resilience, adopting strategies that ensure their business models are in line with the future, and placing human preservation and protecting the planet’s environment among their top priorities.
His Excellency stressed the need to enhance investment in clean energy systems in conjunction with reducing emissions from the current energy system, and pointed out that the goal of increasing the production capacity of renewable energy sources three times during the current decade, stipulated in the historic “UAE Agreement”, will contribute to raising the ceiling of global climate ambition.
He pointed out the world’s need to increase the production capacity of renewable energy sources by 16.4 percent annually until 2030, according to the latest report of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), noting that throughout history, humanity has been able to achieve great achievements that exceed expectations despite doubts and fears, stressing that the international community has made exceptional progress in this field during the past two decades until the world is now adding 2 gigawatts per day to its production capacity of solar energy, which is double what it added in the whole of 2004.
His Excellency Dr. Sultan Al Jaber explained that China has contributed significantly to this progress, as it produces more than half of the world’s total solar energy production capacity, and more than 80 percent of solar panels, stressing the importance of following its model experience.
In his speech, His Excellency pointed to the great potential of artificial intelligence that enables it to contribute effectively to reducing emissions and having a tangible positive impact in the energy and transportation sectors. He explained that developing its technologies will lead to an increase in global demand for energy, which requires meeting this demand in smart ways to benefit from its applications. He also pointed to the world’s need to expand nuclear energy sources, accelerate permits for establishing clean energy projects, modernize the necessary infrastructure for electricity networks, and enhance reliance on natural gas to provide energy. His Excellency renewed the call to restructure the global framework for climate finance, enabling it to provide more financing on easy terms and at an appropriate cost, in addition to stimulating private sector investments.
His Excellency explained that this task poses a challenge in light of the increasing debt burdens on many countries and the limited options for their financial policies, pointing to the need to reduce the risks to which private sector investments are exposed to ensure their participation alongside governments in providing the trillions of dollars needed to finance climate action. His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber pointed to the possibility of developing global climate action mechanisms in a tangible way through new initiatives witnessed at ‘COP28’ such as “Alterra”, launched by the UAE as the largest private investment fund focused on combating climate change with an initial capital of $30 billion. His Excellency stressed that the “UAE Agreement” contributed to enhancing global climate ambition, and stressed the need for the parties to commit to raising the ceiling of ambition to a higher level in the next version of the nationally determined contributions, and taking the necessary measures to ensure that these contributions are transformed into tangible practical actions. It is worth noting that the Troika of the Presidencies of the Conference of the Parties is hosting, during the current week, as part of the activities of the “Ministerial Conference on Climate Action”, a meeting in the style of the UAE Council focusing on protecting, restoring and enhancing natural carbon stores such as forests, wetlands and water bodies, including by taking advantage of the many links between the fields of biodiversity and climate.
This session is part of a series of “Ambition Action Councils” launched by the Troika this year during the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin, Germany, as part of its efforts to help parties raise the bar of ambition in the next round of nationally determined contributions.
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