UAE COP28 chair-designate says world needs climate ‘course correction’

DUBAI, Feb 14 (Reuters) – The world needs to “correct course” to limit global warming, the United Arab Emirates climate envoy and designated chair of the COP28 climate summit said on Tuesday, adding that he would craft an inclusive and innovative route map.

“We already know we are off track,” Sultan al-Jaber told a world government summit in Dubai.

“The world is catching up on keeping global temperatures at 1.5 degrees Celsius, and the harsh reality is that global emissions must fall by 43 percent by 2030,” he said, referring to the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Target.

“We need a major course correction.”

Jaber, who also heads national oil giant ADNOC, was named to lead this year’s climate summit, fueling concerns among activists that big industry is hijacking the world’s response to the global warming crisis.

But Jaber said on Tuesday his presidency would bring a much-needed new approach to the challenge of climate change.

“As COP28 chair, I will develop a roadmap for COP28 that is inclusive, results-oriented and away from business as usual,” he said.

The UAE, a major OPEC oil exporter, will become the second Arab country to host a climate meeting in 2022, after Egypt.

It joins other Gulf energy producers in calling for a more realistic transition in which fossil fuels play a role in energy security while promising to decarbonize.

“It’s in our common interest for the energy industry to join hands with everyone to find the solutions the world needs. It’s logical and it makes sense,” Jaber said.

“We in the UAE are not shying away from the energy transition. We are running towards it.”

Policies should support growth and help tackle climate change, with capital at the key, Jaber said.

“Capital is critical to making the Loss and Damage Fund really work, it’s the key to a fair deal in climate finance in the global South,” he said, referring to developing countries.

The loss and damage fund agreed at last year’s COP27 meeting in Egypt was hailed as a breakthrough for developing countries.

But climate activists have since complained that the fund remains empty.

“We need real reform of international financial institutions and multilateral banks to free up more concessional dollars, reduce risk and attract more private financing to vulnerable communities,” Jaber said.

The summit, scheduled for Nov. 30-Dec. 12, will be the first global assessment of progress since the landmark 2015 Paris agreement to limit global warming.

Reporting by Maha El Dahan, writing by Clauda Tanios; editing by Alex Richardson and Tomasz Janowski

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