New controversy in Dubai and with the president of COP28, Sultan Al Jaber, as the epicenter. This Sunday some statements by the Emirati leader from last November were leaked in which he stated that “there is no science” that supports the end of fuels to help avoid the worst of global warming.
A few words, as revealed by the British newspaper The Guardian, made in an online meeting in which Mary Robinson, former UN special envoy for climate change, also participated. «In no way do I join 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 1.5°C,” says the president of COP28 and director of one of the main oil companies on the planet, Adnoc. .
In the tense talk, where Al Jaber is seen visibly upset, the Emirati minister urges Robinson to show “the road map for a gradual elimination of fossil fuels” and adds “that the gradual elimination of fossil fuels would not allow the sustainable development unless you want to take the world back to the caves.
Some words that contradict the consensus of the scientific community that has been demanding for several years the end of these fuels to keep global warming within the limits agreed in Paris in 2015. One of the groups of experts is the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Group of United Nations Climate Change Experts, which points directly to oil, coal and gas. An alert picked up by the vast majority of national leaders and leaders, including Spain, who have asked for the abandonment of fossils.
António Guterres himself, Secretary General of the UN, made it clear in his speech last Friday what roadmap must be taken: “We cannot save a burning planet with a hose of fossil fuels.”
After four days of the climate summit, the Emirati presidency of the COP has mentioned fossil fuels on only two occasions. The first was made by Al Jaber in his official speech when he asked to include them in the debate: “We have to find methods to include fossil fuels,” he commented. The following came in one of the many agreements and voluntary initiatives that emerged in these first days: “It is necessary to seek a just transition away from fossil fuels.”
Another controversy
These words add to the controversy that arose days before the official opening when some documents supposedly from the Adnoc manager’s team were leaked, suggesting that the United Arab Emirates could use this summit to close trade agreements with some countries for the use of fossil fuels.
Two days later, Al Jaber replied: “These accusations are false, not true, incorrect and not accurate,” while promising that he has never seen or used these documents in his meetings.
The appointment of the Emirati minister already raised controversy at the beginning of the year after his nomination by the Executive of the United Arab Emirates. More than 450 organizations around the world called for the oil businessman’s resignation. “All COPs must be far from the influence that the fossil fuel industry can exert,” they demanded.
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