He called for supporting climate action in conjunction with economic growth
Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, President-Designate of COP28 and Special Envoy of the UAE to Japan, met in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi; Where he conveyed to them the greetings of the leadership in the UAE, and its keenness to strengthen strategic relations between the two friendly countries. He also held discussions on climate action, and the importance of building on the strategic partnership between the UAE and Japan, which currently chairs the Group of Seven, during the preparations for the Conference of the Parties «COP28» and participated during his visit to Japan at the G7 ministerial meeting on climate, energy and the environment; And that in the city of Sapporo; He delivered a speech in which he stressed the importance of the group presenting a successful model for providing climate financing in an adequate, accessible and affordable manner, in order to support the achievement of a logical, practical, gradual and fair transition in the energy sector.
He explained that the world is far from the right track to fulfill climate commitments, which requires a radical and comprehensive correction through the issues of mitigation, adaptation, losses and damages, and financing, reaffirming the keenness of the COP28 Presidency to cooperate and work closely with the Group of Seven, to bring about a quantum leap in climate change. All climate action tracks. In his speech before the ministerial meeting, he said: In line with the vision of the leadership in the UAE, we will make sure that the “COP28” conference focuses on practical aspects, uniting efforts, joining hands and including everyone, because we need to move in the same direction in order to reach our goals, and to establish partnerships and not Dispersion, and to perpetuate agreement and not division.
He invited the attendees and participants to work together to adopt an agenda that contributes to achieving a quantum leap during the conference, in a way that supports climate action simultaneously with sustainable economic and social growth, leaving no one behind. The ministerial meeting on climate, energy and the environment is part of a series of ministerial meetings of the Group of Seven industrialized countries to be held in Japan this month. This is in preparation for the next G7 summit to be held in Hiroshima next May.
- Bilateral meetings
On the sidelines of the meeting, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber held bilateral meetings with ministers and officials of energy, climate, economy and industry from India, Indonesia, Japan, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. During which he stressed the need to provide more climate finance to enable a just and logical transition in the energy sector in emerging economies. He called on the “Group of Seven” to reach an agreement on a new mechanism for climate financing, to make progress across the issues of mitigation, adaptation, and losses and damages. They need it most, and the developed countries must first fulfill their pledges made more than a decade ago to provide $100 billion to developing countries. He pointed to the need to increase the amounts allocated for investment in clean technology, adaptation financing, and a just transition in the energy sector in developing countries and emerging economies three times by 2030, explaining that climate financing is not currently available, neither in an adequate and easy manner, nor at an appropriate cost, stressing the need for a process Radical reform of international financing institutions, to simultaneously achieve climate and development goals.
- $100 billion
He stressed that the availability of climate finance is one of the most important enablers for implementing the necessary measures, stressing the need to develop the performance of international financing institutions, and to fulfill the $100 billion pledged to help developing countries. In his speech, he said: The countries of the Global South are still waiting for developed countries to abide by their pledge to provide $100 billion for climate finance, which was pledged more than ten years ago, and these countries are calling for radical and effective development of the performance of international financing institutions and multilateral development banks, adding Let me speak to you today with transparency and frankness. Let us save the $100 billion, and make sure to bridge the deficit by June, and finish this stage, in order to move towards achieving fundamental reforms that contribute to reducing the risks of climate change, and providing more capital. Facilitator, and attract more capital from the private sector. He stressed the need to intensify work to progress towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, and added: We need to increase the production capacity of renewable energy three times by 2030, and six times by 2040, and we need government legislation to stimulate and market viable alternatives in emissions-intensive sectors and industries, such as Production and use of hydrogen fuel, carbon capture technologies, and we must continue to reduce the carbon intensity of existing energy sources, to ensure energy security during the transition phase in the sector.
He said, “We must remember that our opponent is emissions, not energy. We need more energy, with less emissions, to ensure sustainable economic and social development.” He also stressed the need for solidarity and cooperation in climate action, saying: The radical transformation that the world needs will only be achieved by including everyone. So that no one is left on the sidelines.
He stressed that the COP28 Conference of the Parties will be keen to unite the efforts of the north and south, governments and industrial sectors, scientific fields and civil society, and we look forward to the G7 adopting the policies and taking the necessary measures to reach the decade agreement for the climate. We must maintain the 1.5°C target, and ensure sustainable economic and social development for all peoples. We must also remember that our goal is to reduce emissions, not to slow growth and progress. He explained that there is no one-size-fits-all solution in climate action, because there are different needs and capabilities for different regions and countries, and that liquefied natural gas, for example, is an important transitional fuel in Asia. The President-designate of COP28 lauded the prominent role played by Japan in advancing climate action, through the completion of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, which is the first international treaty that sets binding targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He said: The Kyoto Protocol was a historic milestone in international efforts to confront the repercussions of climate change. It was an important alert to the need for global climate action. COP28, hosted by the UAE, will follow up on these efforts. When the global tally of progress in implementing the goals of the Paris Agreement is completed, the world will see how far we are from the required progress, and we must all respond. Therefore, with a comprehensive, ambitious and bold plan of action.
