The President of the ongoing UN climate talks in Dubai, Sultan Al-Jaber, has reacted to
claims involving fundamental climate science denial after he previously questioned this
science on behalf of ending all fossil fuel use to capped warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius.
With regards to the matter, Jaber said, “Yes we do firmly support science” on Monday. The
talks, held in the presence of many nations, aim at the advancement in the mitigation
agenda in response to climate change concerns.
In response to accusations that he denied fundamental climate science, the ongoing UN
climate talks’ president Sultan Al-Jaber previously described an end to fossil fuel use as a
requirement to maintain a temperature rise of less than 1.5°C.
All countries signed the Paris climate agreement in 2015 that the world temperature rise
should not be more than 1.5°C relative to the industrial era level. During an online meeting in
November with Mary Robinson, Jaber appeared to contradict this consensus saying “there is
no science out there that says the phase-out of fossil fuels will achieve 1.5°C”.
Jaber clarified his stand point on the 5th day of the UN talks and stated that he was shocked
by some attempts to undermine the work of COP28. As an engineer and economist, he
demonstrated his appreciation of science by stating clearly numerous times that the phasing
out of fossil fuels is an eventuality.
Jim Skea, IPCC’s Chair, supported Jaber, and said that he was paying attention to science. Skea reiterated the global scientific consensus: In Scenarios of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees with no overshoot by 2050, the unabated use of coal ceases, while the use of fossil fuels is greatly reduced.
The discourse in COP28 will be centred on the controversial question of when and how we can cut fossil fuels. Other countries that depend largely on fossil fuel oppose the total phasing out instead proposing carbon capture technology.
The UAE Presidency of COP28 comes under criticism because of its status as a major oil and gas producer. This meant Jaber, also the chairman of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), got involved in a scandal for being linked to the field.
Tina Stege, who was the climate envoy of the Marshall Islands reminded nations that are highly vulnerable to climate change of the need to be more ambitious in the reduction of fossil fuels.
Jaber addressed claims of ill-tempered behaviour during the November event, Jaber claimed that it was a respectful conversation.
