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WUHAN/WAM
All stakeholders that delivered the landmark UAE Consensus must come together to implement it and advance sustainable socio-economic development, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and COP28 President, announced today at the eighth Ministerial on Climate Action (MoCA).
Since its inception at COP28, held in Dubai in December, the historic UAE Consensus has emerged as the defining point of reference for global climate ambition and sustainable development.
Solidarity was the key to achieving the UAE Consensus and Dr. Al Jaber told ministers at the event in Wuhan, China, to draw from its “spirit of solidarity” to accelerate implementation of the UAE Consensus.
This approach to inclusivity not only helped to deliver the UAE Consensus but is now yielding real-world results and “facts on the ground”, Dr. Al Jaber added.
PetroChina, which accounts for 3.5 percent of global oil production, has joined the Oil and Gas Decarbonisation Charter (OGDC), which was launched at COP28 to accelerate decarbonisation in the sector.
PetroChina joins 52 other companies, representing roughly 40 percent of global oil production, in the OGDC – with National Oil Companies accounting for over 60 percent of signatories, the most ever to commit to a decarbonisation initiative.
The OGDC calls for the industry to align around net zero by or before 2050, zero-out methane emissions by 2030, eliminate routine flaring by 2030, work towards industry best practices in emission reduction, and invest in the energy system of the future.
PetroChina joining the Charter marks a “significant moment for Chinese leadership” and “sends a powerful signal to global companies yet to sign up to do the right thing and choose the right side of history,” Dr. Al Jaber said.
The COP28 President also called on countries to submit Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that “cover everything from decarbonisation to deforestation.”
“We are pushing every country to turn its NDC into a practical plan that transforms the UAE Consensus into facts on the ground. These plans should be comprehensive and balanced across mitigation, adaptation and means of implementation,” he said.
The COP Presidencies Troika, uniting COP28 with the Azerbaijan and Brazil COP Presidencies, has a critical role to play in maintaining “political momentum,” he added.
Every sector should make climate resilience “their guiding principle”, the COP28 President said, urging industries to “adopt strategies that future proof their business models, put people first and protect our planet.”
Alongside decarbonising the energy system of today, boosting investment in carbon-free energies is critical, the President said, highlighting the UAE Consensus’ goal of tripling renewable energy capacity this decade.
This represents “a bold ambition that will stretch us all,” Dr. Al Jaber acknowledged, pointing to IRENA’s latest report, which found that the world needs to grow capacity by 16.4 per cent every year through 2030. Despite this, “history tells us that every time we doubt our ability to achieve great things, we beat expectations,’ Dr. Al Jaber said. While just 1 gigawatt of solar power capacity was added globally in 2004, the world now adds twice that much to the grid “every single day,” he declared.
As the home to more than half of the world’s combined solar capacity and producer of over 80 percent of all solar panels, China has made a critical contribution to this “extraordinary rate of progress,” Dr. Al Jaber said. “In short, China is the world’s renewable energy powerhouse, and we should all take a leaf out of their playbook.”
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has tremendous potential to impact energy and transport and minimise emissions, yet its development will also “trigger a surge” in energy demand, Dr. Al Jaber warned ministers. “We must be smart about how we meet that demand, while leveraging the upsides of AI.”
The world should look to scale up nuclear energy, speed up permitting for renewable energy projects and modernise grid infrastructure, while recognising the “transitional role” natural gas will play in providing energy access, he said.
The COP28 President reiterated calls for reform of the international financial framework to make climate finance more available, accessible, and affordable and incentivise private-sector investment.
“At a time when many countries are grappling with limited fiscal policy options and increasing debt burdens, this will be no easy task,” he said. “The trillions we need cannot come from governments alone. Yet, the private sector will not step in if the risks are too high.”
Dr. Al Jaber said new entrants such as ALTÉRRA, the world’s largest private investment vehicle for climate change action, launched at COP28 with a US$30 billion commitment from the UAE, could help to “change the dynamic”.
While the UAE Consensus set a high bar for climate action, Parties should “take inspiration” for and set the bar “even higher” through NDCs that “lead to concrete actions,” the President concluded.
This week at MoCA, the COP Presidencies Troika is hosting a Majlis – a form of meeting rooted in longstanding Emirati tradition – focused on the conservation, protection, and restoration of forests, sinks and reservoirs, including through synergies between biodiversity and climate. The session is part of the Action and Ambition Majlis Series, launched this year at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue as part of the Troika’s mission to raise ambition for the next round of NDCs.