WGS in Dubai: 'We need a major course correction' on climate, says Dr Sultan Al Jaber

Cop28 president tells summit the world is playing catch-up in keeping temperatures down

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Dr Sultan Al Jaber, president-designate of the Cop28 summit, on Tuesday said the world needed a “major course correction” to tackle climate change.

The Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Special Envoy for Climate Change said the world was way off track, with current approaches no longer "fit for purpose".

Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Dr Al Jaber, also group chief executive of Adnoc and chairman of Masdar, said entire industrial systems that still run on the energies of the first Industrial Revolution must be transformed.

The hard reality is that global emissions must fall 43 per cent by 2030. That’s just seven years away. We need a major course correction

Dr Sultan Al Jaber

He said the UAE, as hosts of Cop28, was approaching the task of securing consensus at the crucial summit with humility, a clear sense of responsibility and urgency.

“The hard reality is that global emissions must fall 43 per cent by 2030. That’s just seven years away. We need a major course correction,” he said.

“We are not shying away from energy transition, we are running towards it.”

Leaders and delegates from across the world will travel to the UAE in November for the key summit at Expo City Dubai where they will assess how to address the escalating climate emergency. Dr Al Jaber’s role will be to shape its agenda and help countries try to find agreement during up to two weeks of intense and often tortuous negotiations.

The need for urgency is clear with devastating floods inundating Pakistan last year and extreme heatwaves scorching countries such as the UK, India, China and the US. Scientists predict that these events will become more common and deadlier.

Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, concludes the World Government Summit with a talk entitled 'The Emirates: A Family of Solid Roots and a Vibrant Future'. WAM

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, listens to Sheikh Saif. WAM

Najla Bouden, Prime Minister of Tunisia, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Wavel Ramkalawan, President of Seychelles, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Dr Maeen Saeed, Prime Minister of Yemen and Panagiotis Pikrammenos, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece, at the summit. Photo: Presidential Court

Joko Widodo, President, Government of the Republic of Indonesia speaking at the World Government Summit held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Huda AlHashimi, Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Strategic Affairs, United Arab Emirates during the interview at the World Government Summit held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Left to Right - Nasser Al-Khater, Chief Executive Officer, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and Najeeb AlAli, Executive Director, Expo 2020 Bureau speaking during the session on Hosting Major Events: An Arab Success Story at the World Government Summit held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Elon Musk and Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, speak on day three of the World Government Summit in Dubai. Mr Al Gergawi is also chairman of the summit. Pawan Singh / The National

Ian Bremmer, president and founder of Eurasia Group, speaking during a session called 'Beyond 2023: A Global Outlook'. Pawan Singh / The National

Delegates gather at Madinat Jumeirah for the summit. Pawan Singh / The National

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, presents the World Data Visualisation Award to Lindsey Poulter. Pawan Singh / The National

Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, addresses delegates at the summit. Pawan Singh / The National

National flags displayed at the global event. Pawan Singh / The National

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the event using a video link. Antonie Robertson / The National

People gather for the second day of the summit. Antonie Robertson / The National

Huda Al Hashimi, right, Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Strategic Affairs, on stage with Waleed Al Ali, left, Secretary General of the Digital School, and Reda Hegazy, Egypt's Minister of Education. Antonie Robertson / The National

Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and Cop28 President-designate, speaks during a session titled The Road Map to Cop28: Prioritising Action. Pawan Singh / The National

Dr Al Jaber, who is also the UAE's special envoy for climate change, addresses delegates in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Day two of the World Government Summit. Antonie Robertson/The National

Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Digital Economy, AI and Remote Work System, and Nick Clegg, president of Global Affairs at Meta, at the summit. Pawan Singh / The National

Delegates at the World Government Summit held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Mina Al-Oraibi, Editor-in-Chief of The National newspaper, Kersti Kaljulaid, fifth President of Estonia, and Mona Al Marri, vice president of the UAE Gender Balance Council. Pawan Singh / The National

Delegates during the session on Women in Government: Powering the Future. Pawan Singh / The National

President Sheikh Mohamed, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi. Photo: Dubai Media Office

Sheikh Mohamed greets Mr El Sisi. Photo: Presidential Court

Mr El Sisi presents the Global Best M-Gov Award to the winners as Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, looks on. Photo: Presidential Court

Mr El Sisi presents the Global Best M-Gov Award. Photo: Presidential Court

Mr El Sisi presents the Global Best M-Gov Award. Photo: Presidential Court

Sky News Arabia's media relations director Faisal bin Huraiz sits alongside Mr El Sisi at the summit. EPA

Francesco La Camera, Director General of International Renewabale Energy Agency, speaks at the summit. Antonie Robertson / The National

Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence at the summit. Antonie Robertson / The National

Mohamed Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer, Masdar. Antonie Robertson / The National

Marco Dunand, CEO and Co-founder, Mercuria Energy Group. Antonie Robertson/The National

Christian Bruch, President and CEO, Siemens Energy. Antonie Robertson / The National

Ahmed Bahrozyan, chief executive of the Public Transport Agency at the RTA. Antonie Robertson / The National

RTA's flyng taxi and sky port project powered by Joby. Virtual simulation of the flying experience. Antonie Robertson / The National

will.i.am speaking during the session on Accelerating Tech: The New Frontier for Policy-making at the World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Doron Avni, Google VP of Government Affairs and Public Policy Emerging Markets speaking during the session on Accelerating Tech: The New Frontier for Policy-making at the World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Sujay Jaswa, Founder and Managing Partner, WndrCo speaking during the session on Accelerating Tech: The New Frontier for Policy-making at the World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the chairman of the World Government Summit, delivers the opening speech. Pawan Singh / The National

Al Gergawi highlighted the rapid change the world has seen in the decade since the event was first held. Pawan Singh / The National

Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, speaks at the summit. Pawan Singh / The National

Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili speaks at the World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Al Gergawi and Schwab held a joint discussion. Pawan Singh / The National

Delegates standing during the moment of silence for the Turkey – Syria earthquake before the start of World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Delegates at the World Government Summit held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Nations at Cop28 are expected for the first time conduct a “global stocktake” that examines whether pledges made under the 2015 Paris climate agreement go far enough to halt warming emissions.

Agreed in 2015 and signed by about 200 countries, the Paris accord aims to limit global temperature rises to 1.5ºC and to keep them “well below” 2.0ºC above pre-industrial levels.

Many of the world largest emitters — caused mainly by burning fossil fuels — have yet to submit plans to cut emissions in line with Paris and the UN and climate experts say the world is running out of time to act.

“We don’t need to wait for the stocktake to find out what it will say,” said Dr Al Jaber. "We already know that we are way off track. The world is playing catch-up when it comes to holding global temperatures down to 1.5ºC.”

It will be the second successive UN climate change conference to be held in the Middle East, following Cop27 in Egypt. One of the few main agreements last year in Sharm El Sheikh was the creation of a “loss and damage” fund.

The fund aims to help developing countries deal with the effects of climate change but many questions remain about how it will be financed and it is expected to resurface at Cop28.

Dr Al Jaber said the world had to shift from incremental steps to “transformational progress” across mitigation, adaptation, finance and also loss and damage.

On mitigation — cutting warming emissions — Dr Al Jaber said the world had to “triple renewable energy capacity, double hydrogen production, expand nuclear power, improve battery storage and, if we are serious about capturing emissions, scale up carbon-capture technologies”.

He said the energy transition must not leave behind the “800 million people” who are excluded from access to energy today.

“We must eliminate energy poverty, while keeping 1.5ºC alive,” he said. “And we must cater for a world that will be home to an additional 2 billion people by 2050. In short, we need to hold back emissions, not progress.”

As Cop28 president, he said he aimed to lay out a road map that was inclusive, results-orientated and “far from business as usual”. He highlighted the speech made by President Sheikh Mohamed at the summit in 2015, when he said the UAE would celebrate the last barrel of oil to be exported.

“It was a bold call to action that resonated deeply around the world and it absolutely resonated with me,” said Dr Al Jaber.

He added that he would engage the energy sector “because it is in our common interest to have the energy industry working hand-in-hand and alongside everyone on the solutions that the world needs”.

Dr Al Jaber said: "Economists estimate that decarbonising industry, the energy sector, power generation, transportation and food systems could create an additional 12 trillion dollars in economic value by 2030."

He said the UAE was “listening to everyone and engaging with everyone”.

"There are moments in history when humanity comes together to fight a common threat. Let's prove to ourselves that we can do it once again. Let's put our differences aside. Fight climate change, not each other.

“We believe that game-changing solutions can be achieved if the collective political will is there. It certainly is from the UAE. Let’s stop deliberating and start delivering.”