When the United Nations announced that the United Arab Emirates would host the 2023 Climate Summit, known as COP28, many environmentalists were surprised. Is it reasonable to hold a conference to protect the environment in an oil-producing country? And when the United Arab Emirates announced that the president of the conference would be the head of the country’s national oil company, Sultan al-Jaber, the astonishment increased even more. But activists should stop complaining, as Al Jaber is exactly the kind of allies the environment needs.
During his recent visit to India, Al-Jaber summarized the seriousness of the challenges facing the world. He conveyed the desire of the UAE to help India achieve its ambitious goals, by obtaining clean energy. He called for more investments in off-carbon technology, including nuclear and hydrogen energy. He supported the inclusive society approach, which calls for the mobilization of all sectors, and calls for more development banks and financial institutions.
Elephant case
Al Jaber spoke about the issue of the elephant in the room: the need to mitigate the climate impacts of fossil fuels during the transition to clean energy. Al-Jaber said, “It is not a conflict of interests,” hinting at the criticism leveled at him, by saying, “It is in the interest of all of us to make the energy industry work side by side with everyone.” There is no escape from the fact that the world still needs oil and gas, and it will remain so until the next period of time. It is a fact that some environmental activists try to ignore. In fact, fighting climate change is not an issue of ending oil and gas production immediately, but rather developing enough clean energy to phase out fossil fuels gradually, as soon as possible, and doing so in a way that strengthens economic systems and raises the standard of living, through policies that “It supports growth and a clean environment, at the same time,” Al Jaber said.
How to build a culture of business innovation
Al Jaber certainly has financial interests in oil production, but he also has an interest in the clean energy industry. He is the founder and current CEO of Masdar, which aims to produce 100 gigawatts of renewable energy by the end of the decade, a goal that exceeds those set by some of the largest European countries. And if each country aims to produce the same amount of renewable energy per capita over the next seven years, as the United Arab Emirates does, then the fight against climate change could have paid off. Most of the world’s leaders supported the appointment of Al-Jaber, and the United Nations’ decision to host the “Cop 28” summit, including John Kerry, US President Joe Biden’s special representative for climate.
Double the pressure
During the preparations for the November summit, it is important for Al-Jaber to double the pressure on the wealthy countries to fulfill their commitments to the development of the world, push development banks and sovereign wealth funds to expand their ambitions, and help overcome obstacles to greater private sector investment, especially in clean energy projects. in the developed world. Al-Jaber can dispel public skepticism about the feasibility of holding such summits by targeting the biggest obstacle standing in the way of progress in keeping the climate clean, which are still coal-fired power plants. Clean energy is now cheaper than coal-fired energy in most countries of the world. And in places where coal still holds a price advantage (usually because of subsidies), new public-private partnerships, such as those proposed by the Group of 20 nations at their summit in Indonesia last year, can help countries accelerate the transition to clean energy.
Of course, there is a difference between giving a good speech and rallying the world to serious action. That is why it was encouraging to hear Al-Jaber confirming in his speech that this year’s summit should be the “Cube Summit for Action” and it will move the world “from just talking about goals to achieving these goals.” Of course, environmental conservation activists will pin their hopes on Al-Jaber. They are right to translate words into action, but they must admit that they can do more when they accept him as an ally rather than an enemy of the environment.
