COP-28: Can UAE walk the talk on climate change action? Premium

UAE hosts COP-28 with elan, adopts historic UAE Consensus on climate change, pledges $30 billion in climate finance & commits to transition away from fossil fuels.

Naysayers have once again got their predictions wrong on Gulf countries playing host to international events. Like neighbouring Qatar did during the FIFA World Cup in 2022, the UAE hosted with elan the UN’s Climate Change Conference summit otherwise known as COP-28 (28th Conference of Parties). The Dubai summit witnessed a climate agreement that had eluded previous summits. The appointment of an Emirati oil company chief as the COP President had earlier raised criticisms.

Held in Dubai from November 30 to December 12 – although the final deal materialised in the early hours of December 13 – COP-28 adopted the historic UAE Consensus on climate change to standing ovation from its 198 delegates.

The deal agreed on “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner ... so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science.”

It also acknowledged the need for tripling renewables and doubling energy efficiency as well as lowering carbon and methane emissions. Furthermore, a landmark agreement was reached on ‘Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action.’

Held in Dubai from November 30 to December 12 – although the final deal materialised in the early hours of December 13 – COP-28 adopted the historic UAE Consensus on climate change to standing ovation from its 198 delegates. The deal agreed on “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner ... so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science.” It also acknowledged the need for tripling renewables and doubling energy efficiency as well as lowering carbon and methane emissions. A landmark agreement was also reached on ‘Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action.’

Right from the start of the conference, COP-28 President Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, had harped on the “need to focus on our North Star of keeping 1.5°C within reach” and his action spoke louder than words when he took everyone along – from lukewarm Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, to distraught small islands staring global warming in the face – to hammer an action plan for the planet.

The UAE also scored in scaling up climate finance when President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan pledged $30 billion at the start of the conference while the UAE Banks Federation pledged $278 billion in sustainable financing. Sheikh Mohamed also committed $100 million to expand the Reaching the Last Mile (RLM) fund targeting Yemen and the 39 African countries endemic to river blindness and filariasis.