The Cop28 summit being hosted in the UAE at the end of the year needs “oil and gas at the table”, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates said on Wednesday.
With global temperatures already up 1.1º Celsius since the beginning of industrialisation, “we don't have time to exclude countries or sectors”, Mr Gates said.
“We need those that are most responsible for producing and using fossil fuels to step up and make serious commitments for a clean energy future.”
The Microsoft co-founder was speaking via video to an audience of more than 1,000 policymakers, executives, entrepreneurs, investors and financiers who are in Abu Dhabi for the Climate Tech conference.
The event, hosted by the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, Adnoc and renewable energy company Masdar, comes less than seven months before Cop28 begins at Expo City Dubai on November 30.
The Cop28 President-designate is Dr Sultan Al Jaber, who is also Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Adnoc managing director and group chief executive and chairman of Masdar.
Mr Gates emphasised Dr Al Jaber's convening power in his remarks.
“Cop28 President[-designate] Dr Sultan Al Jaber promises to make Cop28 the 'Cop of solutions', one where decision makers from all sectors mobilise resources and political resolve to ensure that the net-zero commitments become a reality,” Mr Gates said.
Mr Gates founded the Breakthrough Energy Group in 2015 to identify and raise funds for promising climate technology solutions such as nuclear fission, concentrated solar power and direct air capture.
Since then, he has personally invested more than $2 billion in the initiative and raised more than $1.5 billion from businesses and charitable organisations to the end of 2022, Reuters reported.
Globally, investment in low-carbon energy technology surged to a record level of $1.1 trillion in 2022, according to BloombergNEF. However, annual investment needs to be three times higher to put the world on track to reach net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
“The need for collective global action to address climate change has never been greater and the UAE's role and leadership is crucial in ensuring we meet our climate goals,” Mr Gates said.
“Together, we can and must build a green Industrial Revolution, one that mitigates climate change, protects local communities and puts the world on a path towards more progress.”
Mr Gates also implored attendees to drive investment towards addressing and adapting to climate change.
“The fact that you're here demonstrates that you understand that decarbonising our economy will be the biggest challenge we collectively face,” he said.
“I encourage each of you to help drive investment in action that meaningfully reduces emissions and adapt to the changes that are ongoing.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Wonka
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A0Paul%20King%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3ETimothee%20Chalamet%2C%20Olivia%20Colman%2C%20Hugh%20Grant%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
The biog
Fatima Al Darmaki is an Emirati widow with three children
She has received 46 certificates of appreciation and excellence throughout her career
She won the 'ideal mother' category at the Minister of Interior Awards for Excellence
Her favourite food is Harees, a slow-cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled wheat berries mixed with chicken
