Sultan Al Jaber and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen Meet to Discuss Climate Action ahead of COP28 Conference

He explained that the presidency of the conference COP28 Committed to coordination and cooperation with all parties, as well as joint work with the European Commission in pursuit of the success of the conference and the realization of the highest aspirations in climate action and sustainable development..

This came during Al-Jaber’s meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the Belgian capital, Brussels, on Wednesday, where they issued a joint statement in which they reaffirmed the need for cooperation and called on all parties to adhere to the goals of the Paris Agreement, and to enhance flexibility and financial flows to achieve climate neutrality, low-emissions development, and progress. Towards achieving a logical, practical, gradual and just transition in the energy sector.

The meeting was attended by Franz Timmermans, Executive Vice President of the European Commission for the Green Deal, Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ambassador Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, Permanent Representative of the UAE to the United Nations and Special Envoy of the United Arab Emirates to the European Union, and Mohammed Al-Sahlawi, UAE Ambassador to Belgium.

The statement called on all parties to coordinate their national efforts within the framework of the joint commitment to achieving the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement, including continuing efforts to maintain the possibility of achieving the goal of avoiding the global temperature rise exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius, in line with the commitments made in the two conferences. COP26 in Glasgow, andCOP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, and with the findings of the latest scientific reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Al-Jaber said: “Europe and the European Union are already playing a leading role in supporting ambitious climate action, and they will be a reliable and key partner in COP28I am pleased that the European Commission supports the call for the presidency of the COP COP28 To increase the production capacity of renewable energy sources three times by 2030“.

The statement also indicated the necessity of activating the financing arrangements for dealing with losses and damages and the fund designated for this purpose, supporting the full implementation of the plan to fulfill the pledge to provide the amount of 100 billion US dollars, doubling “adaptation” financing compared to 2019 levels as soon as possible, and fulfilling obligations to existing financing institutions. Like the Green Climate Fund.

The statement stressed the importance of the role of the two sides in supporting achieving real and tangible progress in developing the performance of international financing institutions and multilateral development banks, in order to attract more climate finance from all sources to meet the needs of developing countries to start work on achieving a transition in the energy sector..

He also indicated the necessity of progress towards achieving a logical, practical, gradual and fair transition in the energy sector, which includes increasing the production capacity of renewable energy, setting policies and providing the necessary investments for the transition to energy systems free of emissions, in conjunction with ensuring energy security and access to it at a reasonable cost..

The joint statement reaffirmed the cooperation of the two sides to ensure that the concerned parties provide maximum support in the matter COP28 To achieve the 2030 global targets for increasing production capacity from renewable energy sources three times and doubling energy efficiency, in addition to supporting efforts to double the production of clean hydrogen by facilitating cross-border trade, so that these goals support the transition to emissions-free energy systems..

The European Commission confirmed its support for the COP Presidency initiative COP28 To allocate a day for health, and to hold a ministerial conference on health and climate for the first time in the history of the conference, and confirmed its intention to continue in intensive coordination with the presidency of the Conference of the Parties COP28 At the political and technical levels in the coming months, in order to achieve an ambitious result in the conference.

The two sides highlighted the importance of the upcoming political stations to achieve this goal, which include the summit of the new global financial compact on June 22 and 23, the Ministerial Conference for Climate Action on July 13 and 14, the meeting of energy ministers of the Group of Twenty on July 22, and the meeting of ministers of environment and climate sustainability of the Group of Twenty in July 28, the G20 Leaders’ Summit on September 9-10, the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit on September 20, and various other regional political forums within this framework around the world..

In this context, Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber reaffirmed that confronting climate change requires a collective effort, and said: “We need to unite and form partnerships across all sectors, and among all concerned parties, to move from the stage of setting goals to their implementation. Therefore, we will make sure that concentrate COP28 On practical results and including everyone, to be able to achieve the qualitative leap and the fundamental progress that the world needs“.

Later on Wednesday, Al Jaber is scheduled to deliver a speech at a reception hosted by the UAE Embassy in Brussels.

It is noteworthy that since Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al-Jaber assumed the task of President-designate of the Conference of the Parties COP28 In January 2023, he participated with the leadership team of the conference in a high-level global listening and communication tour, during which he met and listened to the visions and ideas of many stakeholders from the countries of the Global South, major economic powers, indigenous peoples, non-governmental organizations, civil society, youth and the business community, and the tour included So far, visits to India, China, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, USA and Belgium.