Al Jaber defends himself and assures that this is the first COP Presidency that calls for ending fossil fuels

   MADRID, 4 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of the XXVIII UN Climate Summit (COP28), the Sultan of the United Arab Emirates Al Jaber, assured this Monday that his words have been misinterpreted and has defended that, precisely, this is the first Presidency of a COP which calls on the parties to eliminate fossil fuels.

This Sunday, the president of the COP and president of the national oil company of the United Arab Emirates, Adnoc, said in a debate with human rights defender and president of The Elders, Mary Robinson, that "there is no science, no scenario that says that the elimination of fossil fuels is what will achieve 1.5ºC".

This Monday, Al Jaber defended his position after commenting on a report in which the science on the link between the gradual elimination of fossil fuels and meeting the 1.5ºC objective was questioned.

Thus, he has stressed that his comment was misinterpreted and that this is the "first Presidency" that makes an "active" call to the parties to advance the language of abandoning fossil fuels so that it can be included in the final agreement.

Al Jaber has defended that in his training as an engineer "science has guided his life" in response to such comments. "Science says that we must reach zero net emissions by 2050 and that we must reduce emissions by 43 percent in 2030" to keep global temperatures on track, he said Monday in response to his comments.

In addition, he has stated that several reports have been in a "consistent effort" to undermine the work of COP28.

In this context, the Minister of Climate Change and Environment of the United Arab Emirates, Mariam Almeheiri, has stated that fossil fuels "have a role to play, a much smaller role to play."

The minister has made these statements that add controversy to Sultan Al Jaber's comments on Bloomberg Television this Monday. In the interview she indicated that the increase in renewable energies should be the focus.