According to Sultan Ahmed al Jaber, the president of the upcoming COP28 in Dubai, developing countries are “extremely important” in the global fight against climate change and should have greater access to funding in this area. In an interview with AFP, al Jaber expressed his support for greater ambitions in the fight against climate change but emphasized that more ambitious measures must be accompanied by more accessible funding for emerging countries.
Al Jaber, who attended the G7 ministerial meeting on climate, energy, and the environment in Sapporo, Japan, argued that it is time to have a fair agreement for the southern countries, which receive fewer funds to alleviate climate change despite being the most in need. He called for a balance between passion and realism on climate issues to reach a concrete and pragmatic agreement at COP28 in December.
The G7 is expected to commit on Sunday to working with other developed countries to mobilize $100 billion per year this year to fight climate change in emerging countries. However, Al Jaber emphasized that there are many expectations from southern countries but very little trust, adding that he had undertaken a global tour to listen to the complaints of developing countries a few months ago.
Al Jaber also emphasized the need to triple the available funds for combating climate change in emerging countries by 2030 and to multiply the capacity for renewable energy by six by 2040. His appointment as president of the UN climate conference earlier this year was met with suspicion by environmental NGOs since he is also the CEO of ADNOC, the national oil giant of the UAE. However, Al Jaber defended himself by pointing out that he is also the founder of Masdar, the national renewable energy giant of the UAE, and that his country has been working on its energy transition “for more than 20 years.”