The UAE’s offer to host the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Abu Dhabi in 2023, is “a bold move for one of the main oil and gas producing countries in the world,” according to a top Luxembourg official.
In an exclusive interview with Emirates News Agency (WAM), Franz Fayot, Luxembourg’s Minister of Economy and Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, said, “I think it is also a strong signal and a strong show of leadership that this country is showing the way as an oil producing country, saying that we need to go all in on greening the planet.”
UAE’s vision to tackle big problems He appreciated the UAE’s vision to tackle the big problems such as climate change, given that “it is a country that is producing oil and gas, and very much relying on it.”
The UAE has realised that the economy must be diversified, “in a world that is moving away from fossil fuels. So, I think that’s all very inspiring and encouraging,” Fayot said.
The UAE’s announcement on 23rd May, offering to host COP 28 has received appreciation and support from many quarters.
The head of a crucial UN global environment summit said on Tuesday he was delighted to hear about the UAE’s bid to host Cop28.
Alok Sharma, President of Cop26, in a conversation with Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE’s Climate Envoy, said, “I look forward to continuing our engagement to drive green finance and decarbonisation on the road to Glasgow [where Cop26 is set to take place in November].”
Meanwhile, Bahrain, Jordan and Tajikistan have voiced their support and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) chief has welcomed the announcement.
Dr. Mohammed bin Mubarak bin Daina, Bahrain’s Special Envoy for Climate Affairs and the CEO of the nation’s Supreme Council for Environment (SCE), reiterated Bahrain’s full support for the UAE’s bid to host the key international forum, and the Kingdom’s willingness to contribute to its success at all levels Expressing his country’s support to the UAE move, Jordanian Environment Minister, Nabil Masarweh, had said, “The Ministry of Environment values and appreciate this great Arab role played by the UAE, which serves joint Arab action related to environmental issues in general, and climate change in particular.”
Tajikistan has welcomed and supported the UAE’s bid to host COP 28, according to Tajikistan’s Embassy in the UAE.
While expressing the GCC’s confidence in the capabilities of the UAE to host the COP 28, its Secretary-General Dr. Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf said the UAE move would guarantee the success of the conference.
Meanwhile, a UAE climate negotiation team, led by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, is participating in the virtual meetings of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), launched on Monday, which will continue until June 17.
The team aims to advance the UAE’s global climate interests and highlight the country’s achievements in driving climate mitigation and adaptation at home and abroad in line with its voluntary commitments under the Paris Agreement and the UNFCCC.
These include an increase in its solar power capacity from 10 MW in 2009 to 2,400 MW in 2020, with an additional 6,000 MW either under development or planned until 2030, and the launch of the first reactor of the 5,600 Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant that will supply up to 25 percent of the country’s electricity needs once fully operational. Moreover, the UAE is developing the region’s first commercial-scale carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) network.
Globally, the country has helped advance the deployment of renewables through the US$350 million International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) / Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) Project Facility, as well as the UAE-Pacific Partnership Fund and the UAE-Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund, valued at US$50 million each.
The country’s flagship renewables company Masdar has invested in clean energy projects with a total capacity of 10.7 GW in over 30 countries.
The team also seeks to underscore the UAE’s commitment to achieving the goals set out in its second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) that was submitted to the UNFCCC Secretariat in December 2020.
These include an enhanced target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 23.5 percent compared to business as usual for the year 2030, increasing clean power capacity to 14 GW by 2030, planting 30 million mangrove seedlings by 2030, adopting climate-smart agricultural methods, and promoting sustainable production and consumption.
The UNFCCC meetings aim to pave the way for the most important discussions that will be presented during 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), set to take place in November 2021 in Glasgow, UK.
UAE bid for COP28 summit focuses on economic opportunities in climate action
The UAE, one of the world’s largest producers of crude oil, is lobbying to host the Council of Parties (COP28) global climate summit in Abu Dhabi in November 2023. This way it’s seeking to distinguish itself as a global climate leader in a region still dominated by fossil fuels.
The event is held annually and brings together global leaders to deliberate climate policy.
“The climate challenge is daunting, but it is also matched by enormous opportunity to drive economic growth and job creation,” Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in a statement.
“As COP28 host, the UAE would leverage its experience as a regional and global convener to mobilize all actors in achieving the Paris Agreement and reinforcing the compelling investment case for raising ambitions,” he added.
The UAE plans to increase its oil production capacity to more than 5 million barrels per day by 2030, and is constructing a coal fired power plant. Nevertheless, its pitch to host COP28 seeks to elevate its efforts to make climate action a pillar of its domestic and foreign policy and national economic strategy, according to a 19-page official document reviewed by CNBC.
The UAE has already allocated more than $1 billion in grants and low-interest loans for renewable energy innovation to 70 countries. It plans to use the conference to focus on the economic benefits of accelerated climate action — a key consideration as countries emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The United Kingdom is set to host the COP26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland in November, billed as the most important since the signing of the Paris Accords in 2015. Under the UN regional rotation system, a yet-to-be-determined African nation is scheduled to host COP27 next year.
Playing host for COP28 would be an achievement in the climate sphere for the Middle East — the world’s hottest, driest and most water-scarce region. By 2030, temperatures are expected to increase more than twice the global average.
The UAE’s push also comes amid intensifying regional and global climate diplomacy, which has been amplified by a change of administration in the U.S. and the coronavirus pandemic.
U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, attended a climate change-focused regional dialogue hosted by the UAE in April. The UAE climate envoy, Sultan Al Jaber, is now working with the U.S. to coordinate efforts to deliver action on critical climate issues, including decarbonization.
The UAE also hosted both preparatory meetings for Secretaries-General Ban Ki-moon’s and Antonio Guterres’ climate summits in 2014 and 2019, and hosts a well-attended annual sustainability summit, the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
“By hosting COP28 in the UAE, we hope to leverage our experience and capacity to support and increase global climate ambition, while maximizing the economic benefits both regionally and globally,” said Hana Al Hashimi, spokesperson for the Office of the UAE Special Envoy for Climate.
The UAE was the first country in the region to sign and ratify the Paris Agreement, and the first in the region to commit to cutting emissions as part of its Nationally Determined Contribution within the accord. It’s also home to the largest single-site solar facility in the world, the region’s first green hydrogen plant, a large-scale carbon capture project, the Abu Dhabi based International Renewable Energy Agency and the renewable energy company, Masdar.
“It’s a fact that our prosperity as a country has been anchored by the blessing of a fossil fuel economy,” Masdar CEO Jameel Al Ramahi told CNBC on Tuesday. “While we are thankful to the blessing that we have and the wealth that we created through fossil fuels, we are also committed to the future,” he said.
“At a time when IRENA’s vision for the energy system of the future is fast becoming the mainstream path to limiting temperatures to 1.5 degrees, hosting COP will further strengthen the UAE’s role in the global energy transition,” International Renewable Energy Agency Director-General Francesco La Camera told CNBC.
Most recently, the UAE and US launched a joint plan to tackle food insecurity, weeks after hosting US climate envoy John Kerry in Abu Dhabi for the Regional Dialogue for Climate Action.
Aim for Climate seeks innovation in agriculture at a time when climate change threatens the stability of food production around the world.
If the bid is successful, it would bring thousands of decision-makers and delegates to the Emirati capital, The National News reports.
Why the UAE should hold Cop28
On his opening trip to Asia as the Biden administration’s special presidential envoy for climate, John Kerry’s first stop was Abu Dhabi, where he attended the Regional Climate Dialogue in April. It was not your usual diplomatic visit, The National News states.
Rather than being confined to reception rooms, Mr Kerry was given a helicopter tour of the emirate’s Noor facility, the largest single-site solar plant in the world, as well as trips to the first university dedicated to AI, MBZUAI, with curriculums focusing on sustainability, and even a mangrove park. This packed and varied itinerary made one thing clear: solving the climate crisis will require every technology and discipline that countries can harness.
Mr Kerry’s trip to the climate dialogue highlighted an emergency that threatens the globe. More than 190 leaders will be discussing it again at the UN’s 26th Climate Change Conference, Cop26, which is taking place this November in Glasgow, Scotland.
The Cop meetings are arguably the most influential of their kind, having led to the establishment of the Paris Agreement in 2015, when nearly every nation on Earth agreed to work together to stop the world’s temperature increasing more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
Climate change poses the same threat to all nations. But the Mena region is an early frontline. Droughts are affecting farmers from Sudan to Syria. And it is not just the natural environment under threat. Regional economies are in jeopardy, too. The World Bank highlighted in a recent report that water scarcity related to climate change could cost the Middle East as much as a 14 per cent knock to GDP by 2050. When more than 80 per cent of water used in the region goes towards agriculture, dwindling supplies threaten not only those reliant on the earth for work, but the food security of everyone.
This urgency has led to increasing concern within GCC governments, who for years have been planning for a post-carbon future that redirects the oil revenues that were the driving force behind the region’s rapid development in the 20th century.
In the UAE, officials have been arguing for some time that a greener future is also a major opportunity for growth. Announcing the bid on Sunday, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said, “We have seen first-hand that there is now an unprecedented business case for the highest level of climate ambition – especially when it advances gender equality and empowers youth.” A series of major environmental projects are providing the proof; the Emirates now has among the lowest solar energy costs on the planet.
It will take more than the cold, hard facts to change longstanding polluting habits. The Gulf has been a major commercial centre of the global carbon industry for decades. Now it is committed to taking the lead on creating a greener future, and hosting Cop28 in the UAE would show that commitment on the world stage. If the Gulf can lead conversations for real, global progress on sustainability, then reluctant countries elsewhere in the world will find it harder to make excuses for inaction.
