Inspenet, December 5, 2023.
A new controversy surrounds the president of COP28, since the Center for Climate Reporting has made public an audio recorded during an online event held on November 21, in which Al Jaber states that “There is no science, no scenario, that states that the progressive elimination of fossil fuels is what will lead us to limit global warming to 1.5°“.
Likewise, Al Jaber challenged Mary Robinson, former UN special envoy for climate change: ” Show me the ‘roadmap’ for a progressive elimination of fossil fuels that allows sustainable socioeconomic development, unless you want to bring to the world back to the caves .”
These expressions are understandable when they come from the CEO of Adnoc, the state oil company of the United Arab Emirates, but they are hardly acceptable if the sultan himself is in charge of leading diplomatic efforts to reduce global emissions that are contributing to climate change, especially in a Dubai shrouded in fog.
In this regard, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, described the statements as ” very serious and absolutely worrying, bordering on climate denialism “, generating an open conflict between both parties.
Shortly after, former US Vice President Al Gore noted, during a session at the COP28 conference, that the UAE’s greenhouse gas emissions increased by 7.5% in 2022 compared to the previous year, an anomaly. considering that worldwide the increase was “only” 1.5%.
“They have abused everyone’s trust by appointing the CEO of one of the largest and least responsible oil companies in the world as president of the climate conference.“, the former Nobel Peace Prize winner told the press. Afterwards, he asked the representatives not to include in the COP28 final document the mention of carbon capture, as the producing countries would like: “It is a technology that is still in the research phase“.
Notably, Al Jaber has demonstrated strong activism in the early days and the United Arab Emirates has committed generous contributions to climate finance. However, the credibility of the presidency has been compromised and calls for his resignation are increasing.
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Source: amp.elmundo.es