‘Get real now’ to achieve green targets, Al Jaber says

Getting global climate goals on track means the Cop28 summit in the UAE must meet high expectations, President-designate Dr Sultan Al Jaber said yesterday.

Achieving this requires overcoming low levels of trust – especially in the countries hardest hit by climate change, Dr Al Jaber told the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin, jointly hosted by Germany and the UAE.

He urged countries to “get real now” to meet targets.

Dr Al Jaber, who is UAE special envoy for climate change, said the world was not on schedule to reduce emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 to achieve the target set in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The Paris goal is to limit the global temperature rise to no more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels – and ideally no more than 1.5°C.

Dr Al Jaber said the first “global stocktake” at the summit must prove to be a historic turning point.

“We have no choice but to get real now,” said Dr Al Jaber, who is also Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology.

“We must unite and seize the moment of the global stocktake to put the world on the right track to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.

“Cop28 needs to deliver an action plan that engages the public and private sector to achieve transformational results. This will be underpinned by a robust negotiated response to the global stocktake.”

Dr Al Jaber said a listening tour by the Cop28 team heard repeated calls for greater efforts to meet the financial needs in countries hit by climate change.

US businessman Michael Bloomberg praised Dr Al Jaber’s intervention.

“Dr Sultan Al Jaber is spot on – it’s time to turbocharge global climate finance across the public, private and multilateral sectors and help those least responsible for the impacts of climate change combat this crisis,” he tweeted.

Dr Al Jaber urged developed countries to meet commitments to restore trust. “Developing countries are still waiting for the $100 billion promised by developed

countries 14 years ago,” he said. “At Cop28, I expect ambitious, transparent and accountable commitments from countries and businesses that will shape policies in parliaments and budgets in boardrooms.”

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the good news was the $100 billion target could be met this year. She also called for wider accessibility to renewable energy technology, especially in Africa, as she mooted the possibility of whether we “should and can” reach a target on renewables.

Ms Baerbock also highlighted the importance of the first stocktake on climate goals at Cop28.

“Scientists are not going to give us a good report card,” she said. The Petersburg meeting has become part of a bigger process that brings countries together on the main themes of the international climate talks.

It was also addressed by Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary General, the leading voices from the most affected nations and climate bodies.

Barbados’s Prime Minister Mia Mottley and UNFCCC executive secretary Simon Stiell commended the UAE listening exercise as a unifying process that should generate a spirit of coming together when the summit opens.

“It was very, very helpful,” Mr Stiell said, adding that he was confident that Dubai’s Cop28 summit “will be a turning point for the world”.

Dr Al Jaber reiterated commitments to phase out fossil fuel emissions and phase up renewables. “We will accelerate delivery in sectors like renewables that must triple capacity by 2030 and double it again by 2040,” he said.

The two-day gathering in Berlin was also addressed by high-level champion Razan Al Mubarak, who takes on a remit of climate progress for all at Cop28, and was introduced to youth climate champion Shamma Al Mazrui, who is also Minister of Community Development.