The Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and the appointed President of the COP28 Conference of the Parties, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, visited Paris, during which he met French President Emmanuel Macron, where he conveyed to him the greetings of the leadership and its keenness to strengthen bilateral relations between the two friendly countries. He also met a group of climate officials in government and civil society. This visit came as part of the global tour to listen to the concerned parties in preparation for the UAE’s hosting of the conference next November.
During his meetings, Sultan Al-Jaber explained the vision of the leadership in the UAE about achieving a quantum leap in climate action, stressing the importance of achieving progress in the issues of mitigation, adaptation, climate financing, and losses and damages. He stressed the need to provide climate financing, and the need to develop the performance of multilateral financial institutions to provide The capital needed to finance clean technologies, adaptation efforts, and remedial losses and damages.
Sultan Al-Jaber stressed keenness to cooperate with France during the summit dedicated to reaching a new global financial agreement, to be held in Paris in June 2023, in an effort to build momentum before the Conference of the Parties.
He said: “We will focus on benefiting from the momentum that will be achieved by the new global financial compact summit, to achieve practical achievements at the COP28 Conference of the Parties, as this summit will be an important stop before the conference, and we must focus during it on attracting financing from the private sector, expanding the scope of concessional financing, and advancing carbon markets.
Sultan Al-Jaber met with a group of climate officials from the government and civil society. He also met with the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, the former Prime Minister of France and the President of the COP21 Conference of the Parties, Laurent Fabius, the French Minister of Economy, Finance and Recovery, Bruno Le Maire, and the Minister of Energy Transition, Agnès Panet-Ronachet. During these meetings, he stressed the need to mobilize all necessary efforts and resources to achieve a successful and just transition in the energy sector globally, and the need for countries to fulfill their obligations under the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015.
During a special round table meeting hosted by the International Energy Agency, and attended by ambassadors of 50 countries representing developing economies and countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Sultan Al-Jaber stressed the existence of an opportunity to unite the efforts of all sectors in order to achieve the desired progress in climate action.
He said, “We need the cooperation of all segments of society, including governments, the private sector, and civil society, and ensuring that they move in the same direction, because the world is progressing through partnership, not isolation and division, and I am firmly convinced of our common ability to achieve the most radical shift in human growth rates.” And prosperity since the first industrial revolution, if we join our efforts and conclude smart partnerships.
In another meeting with members of the NGO community, Sultan Al-Jaber pointed to the need for commitment, work and optimism, indicating the need for a “radical correction process” by saying: “We intend to respond to the results of the global outcome, and start correcting the course by advancing progress in each of the pillars Paris Agreement,” and called on non-governmental organizations to support the presidency of the COP28 conference, saying: “We need your ideas, opinions, networks, research, data, and passion… We are all confident that constructive dialogue will enhance the effectiveness of efforts to reduce the consequences of climate change and build a better future.” For everyone”.
Shamma bint Suhail Al Mazrouei, Minister of Community Development and Climate Pioneer for Youth at the COP28 Conference, participated in the visit, where she met a number of stakeholders, and stressed the need for all parties to participate in the dialogue, and their contribution to the agenda of the Conference of the Parties, saying: “The world needs COP28 to be a conference Comprehensive that includes all parties, and we need everyone to join hands and unite their forces, in universities, cities, civil society organizations, nature conservation groups, and every government and industrial sector, especially the young generation.
It is worth noting that the UAE has strong relations with the Republic of France in various fields, including the field of transition in the energy sector and financing climate action, and the two countries cooperate in many energy and sustainability projects, and in February 2023, the UAE and France launched a partnership to reduce carbon emissions from emissions-intensive industries. And it will be announced during the COP28 Conference of the Parties, while the two countries signed in July 2022 the comprehensive strategic partnership in the field of energy, which focuses on enhancing energy security, providing it at reasonable costs, and reducing emissions, in addition to advancing effective climate action in preparation for the COP28 Conference.
Shamma Al Mazrouei stresses the need for all parties to contribute to the COP28 agenda.