New controversy from the COP28 president: He denies that science indicates the need to end fossil fuels | Climate and environment

The figure of Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE Minister of Industry and chair of the COP28 climate summit held in Dubai, has been at the center of controversy since the beginning of the year he knew he would be participating. Charged with leading the negotiations of this international conference. Because, in addition to being a minister, he is the CEO of his country’s national oil and gas company, ADNOC. And this Sunday, some of his statements, issued on November 21 (nine days before the start of COP 28), were leaked, in which he slides along a fine line of arguments to the brink of climate denial. Because he asserts that there is no “science” to support this idea, in order to avoid the worst of global warming, fossil fuels must be phased out.

This came during an online meeting in which Mary Robinson, former UN Special Envoy for Climate Change, also participated. At one point in the conversation, which was very tense, Robinson asked him if he supported an end to fossil fuels, which was very much the focus of discussions at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), in which representatives from about 200 countries are participating. . Al-Jaber answers: “I am in no way joining any disturbing discussion.” There is neither science nor any scenario that says that phasing out fossil fuels is what will allow us to reach 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to a video of that meeting that It was published by the British newspaper on Sunday guardian.

But there is widespread scientific support for the need to move away from fossil fuels in compliance with the Paris Agreement, which sets a goal of keeping temperature rise between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius. António Guterres himself, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, has made it clear: What should the United Nations do? This path should be followed in his speech at the opening of the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties. “A 1.5 degree limit will only be possible if we finally stop burning all fossil fuels,” he said. Guterres, who has been highlighting fossil fuels in his speeches for years, stressed: “We cannot save a burning planet with a hose of fossil fuels.”

For more than three decades, the United Nations has had a team of international experts, known by its acronym IPCC, who analyze climate science to create the scientific bases of knowledge about global warming. They conduct evaluations periodically and concluded the sixth this spring. Among many other conclusions, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change makes clear that fossil fuels – oil, gas and coal – are primarily responsible for greenhouse gas emissions and therefore climate change.

Moreover, it has been decided that in order to comply with the Paris Agreement, very significant – in some cases 100% – reductions in the use of coal, oil and gas are needed by 2050. Although the possibility of using technologies is not rejected, carbon dioxide and Certainly, by seizing this type of fuel, which would allow the burning of this fuel to continue, the obvious alternative is renewable energy sources, whose costs have fallen sharply. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has even established a pathway for global use of coal, oil and gas to be reduced in 2050 by 100%, 60% and 70% respectively, compared to 2019 levels if you will. exceed 1.5 degrees. If carbon capture and storage measures, which are currently marginal and expensive, are implemented, these reductions will be reduced somewhat.

But in the tense exchange broadcast on Sunday, Sultan Al Jaber told Robinson: “Please help me, show me the roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels that will allow sustainable social and economic development, unless you want to lead the world back to caves.” “.

These now well-known words are in addition to another controversy that arose a few days before the start of the summit, when documents were leaked, supposedly from Al Jaber’s team, indicating that the UAE could use the summit to conclude trade agreements with some countries in order to reach an agreement. Use of fossil fuels. It took Al-Jaber two days to respond, and when he did, he denied it. The Emirati minister said, “These accusations are false, incorrect, incorrect, and inaccurate,” stressing that he had never seen these documents or used them in his meetings. He added: “Do you think that the UAE or I need to chair the Conference of the Parties to conclude trade agreements or commercial relations?”

The role that the United Arab Emirates may play in this summit faces severe criticism from some environmental organizations. Because some countries expect from the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) an explicit call to abandon fossil fuels, something that was not achieved in previous United Nations summits. Al-Jaber confirms in the interview that his team included this issue on the negotiating agenda, but he does not support it based on his statements. In all cases, the chairmanship of this type of meeting must be neutral. Laurence Toubiana, the former French diplomat considered one of the architects of the Paris Agreement, warned a few years ago in El Pais that “the presidency must be impartial and overcome conflicts of interest.”

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