COP28 director general rejects criticism of boss – 06/06/2023 – Environment

There is no conflict of interest between leading the next UN climate change summit in Dubai later this year and running the UAE’s state-owned oil giant, the director-general said. of COP28 this Tuesday (6).

More than 100 members of the US Congress and the European Parliament called in May on US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to pressure the Emirati government to remove Sultan al-Jaber from office. at the COP, saying his dual stance could jeopardize the talks.

Jaber, who also runs the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), has championed since his appointment this year for a more inclusive approach to climate action that leaves no one out, including the fossil fuel industry.

“I think he is perfectly positioned in our system. He understands the process, he understands the participants, he has the political contacts,” COP28 Director General Majid Al Suwaidi told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. , on the sidelines of the UN climate talks in Bonn, Germany.

Al Suwaidi said having a CEO to head the COP for the first time in the history of climate summits, and no longer having a purely political process, will help deliver results from the December meeting.

“We need a delivery mentality. For the first time, Dr Sultan is asking: what are the specific targets that will take us to achieve the Paris targets by 2030?” said Al Suwaidi, adding that it is important to include the private sector in the negotiations.

“I’ve been in these negotiations for years. We’ve never really engaged the private sector to ask how they can work with us to do that. At COP28, we’re doing it,” he added.

Al Suwaidi dismissed criticism that the COP chair-designate was vague about its agenda and timetable, saying his staff submitted the summit’s themed days for comment a month ago and were now refining them based on feedback received.

“I feel very confident that we are on the right track,” he said.

The COP28 presidency still does not have a clear concept of what a damages fund for places affected by climate-caused disasters would look like, agreed at the COP27 conference in Egypt last year, and where the money would come or be spent, Al added. Suwaidi.

“That’s what the negotiators are doing at the moment in the transition committee here in the discussions in Bonn. We need them to move forward on this issue,” he said.