COP28 President-designate and European Commission President Reaffirm Commitment to Global Ambition in Climate Action

Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and President-designate of COP28, stressed that the directives of the leadership in the UAE focus on building bridges of communication, dialogue and building partnerships to achieve comprehensive and sustainable economic and social development, explaining that the presidency of COP28 is 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 achieving the highest ambitions in climate action and sustainable development.

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

The meeting was attended by Franz Timmermans, Executive Vice President of the European Commission for the Green Bargain, 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 the Kingdom of Belgium.

The statement called on all parties to coordinate their national efforts within the framework of a shared commitment to achieve the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement, including continued efforts to maintain the possibility of achieving the goal of avoiding global warming exceeding the 1.5°C level, and in line with the commitments made at the COP26 conferences in Glasgow and COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, and with the results of the latest scientific reports issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

"Europe and the EU are already playing a leading role in supporting ambitious climate action and will be a trusted key partner in COP28, and I am pleased that the European Commission supports the COP28 Presidency's call to triple the production capacity of renewables by 2030," said Al Jaber.

The statement also pointed to the need to activate the financing arrangements for the treatment of loss and damage and the fund allocated for this purpose, support the full implementation of the plan to fulfill the pledge of $ 100 billion, double the financing of "adaptation" compared to 2019 levels as soon as possible, and meet commitments to existing financing institutions, such as the Green Climate Fund.

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

He also pointed to the need to progress towards achieving a logical, practical, gradual and equitable transition in the energy sector, including increasing the production capacity of renewable energy, developing policies and providing the necessary investments to transition to emission-free energy systems, while ensuring energy security and access to it at an affordable cost.

The joint statement reiterated the cooperation of the two sides to ensure that stakeholders provide maximum support at COP28 to achieve the global targets for 2030 on tripling production capacity from renewable energy sources and doubling energy efficiency, in addition to supporting efforts to double clean hydrogen production by facilitating cross-border trade, so that these goals support the transition to zero-emission energy systems.

The European Commission confirmed its support for the COP28 Presidency's initiative to dedicate a day to health, convening a Ministerial Conference on Health and Climate for the first time in the history of the Conference, and its intention to continue intensive coordination with the COP28 Presidency at the political and technical levels in the coming months, in order to achieve an ambitious outcome at the Conference.

The two sides highlighted the importance of upcoming political milestones to achieve this goal, which include the New Global Financial Compact Summit on June 22-23, the Ministerial Conference on Climate Action on July 13-14, the G22 Energy Ministers Meeting on July 28, the G9 Environment and Climate Sustainability Ministers Meeting on July 10, the G20 Leaders' Summit on September <>-<>, the UN Secretary-General's Climate Action Summit on September <>, and various other regional political forums within the This framework around the world.

In this context, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber reiterated that confronting climate change requires a collective effort, saying: "We need to come together, unite, and forge partnerships across all sectors, and among all stakeholders, to move from setting goals to implementing them. Therefore, we will ensure that COP28 focuses on practical results and inclusion, to be able to achieve the paradigm shift and fundamental progress that the world needs."