President of COP28 asks negotiators for "flexibility" to achieve consensus for "unprecedented" achievements

   MADRID, 30 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of the XXVIII Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), Sultan Al Jaber, has asked the negotiators of the 198 countries that from this Thursday, November 30, until December, they meet in Dubai, "flexibility" to reach common points, achieve solutions and reach consensus.

"Never lose sight of our 1.5ºC North Star," Al Jaber appealed at the opening session of COP28, where he urged the countries of the UN framework convention to adopt "bold" decisions and achieve during the next two weeks "unprecedented" results in favor of the fight against climate change.

However, Al Jaber, after being officially named president of COP28 by his predecessor in 2022 at COP27 in Egypt, Sameh Shoukry, has admitted that "it is not going to be easy" but has called on countries to take "immediate and "ambitious" and achieve a "rapid consensus on the agenda" and move quickly from text to action.

"Science has spoken. Now is the time to find a new path," Al Jaber stressed to the countries, insisting that they must achieve a "complete vision" for a future energy system that maximizes the momentum at this COP28. to mitigation.

"Let us remember that our task is not only to negotiate texts or put words on paper, but also to improve lives. It is about people," he expressed, while ensuring that the Emirati Presidency is committed to unlocking financing to ensure that the south does not have to choose between development and climate action.

For Al Jaber "now is the time" to find a "new path" wide enough and "free from the obstacles and deviations of the past." In his opinion, this new path begins with a decision on the Global Balance, which must be "ambitious", correct course and accelerate action until 2030.

At the same time, it has committed to promoting during these two "intense" climate negotiations to carry out an "inclusive and transparent process, which encourages free and open debate between all parties."

As a representative of the government of the United Arab Emirates, he has defended that his country is young and with "great ambitions" that clings "firmly" to the principles of collaboration, optimism, true partnership, determination and commitment.

He has assured that these ingredients are part of the DNA of the United Arab Emirates and believes that these fundamental values ​​of "trust, purpose, partnership and pragmatism" must now define COP28.

Another aspect to which the Sultan has appealed to the countries' efforts is to close the financing gap for climate adaptation and has urged the parties to "fulfill the promise" of a "fully operational" loss and damage fund. .

"Let us put nature, lives and livelihoods at the center of our national plans," appealed Al Jaber, who recalled that water, food, agriculture and health are "fundamental" for adaptation.

In that sense, he celebrated that this will be the first COP to host a ministerial meeting on climate health and has reiterated the importance of decarbonizing the current energy system.

Thus, Al Jaber, also president of the state oil company of the United Arab Emirates, has indicated that this COP Presidency made the "bold" decision to proactively collaborate with oil and gas companies with which it has had "many discussions." " that they were not easy, but that now many of these companies are committing "for the first time" to reduce their methane emissions to zero by 2030 and that many fellow national oil companies have adopted "2050 net zero targets for the first time."

"I know there are strong opinions on the idea of ​​including text on fossil fuels and renewable energy in the negotiated text. We have the power to do something unprecedented. I ask you to work together," he asked delegates.

Al Jaber's speech was preceded by the intervention of the outgoing president of COP27, Sameh Shoukry, who listed the progress made at the summit in Sharm El Sheikh a year ago and highlighted that despite the fact that the countries have committed to contributing 100,000 million dollars to the loss and damage fund, funding is "actually" decreasing.

"If we take into account the high costs of financing for developing countries, the adaptation fund and the green climate fund are two examples of this worrying trend, that is, that flows are reduced," he warned.

Likewise, Shoukry is concerned about the expansion of fossil fuel exploration and production projects, especially coal, in countries that had previously committed to reducing fossil fuels, especially coal in those countries that had previously committed to gradually reduce or even eliminate it completely.

He has also criticized the "big gap" between the expansion of renewables and their availability as well as the temptation of incentives or taxes that "deviate fair competition" and affect multilateralism.

"While the results we achieved in Sharm El Sheik take us a step forward in the right direction, these worrying trends must be addressed immediately and effectively if we are to be on the right side of history and ensure that our efforts are not vain", he concluded before passing the gavel of the Presidency to the Emirati sultan.