COP28 President-Designate Dr. Sultan Al Jaber Visits UK During London Climate Action Week

COP28 President-Designate, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber visited London Climate Action Week, which was held at Guildhall in London.

The event began on Tuesday and the COP28 President-Designate attended it on Thursday, where he collaborated with the UK Government on policies that would help to increase climate investments and develop holistic ecosystems.

During his visit, Dr. Al Jaber met several key British stakeholders including King Charles III, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Grant Shapps MP, and Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment of the United Kingdom, Zac Goldsmith.

Dr. Al Jaber also met various business leaders, university students, and young climate advocates. The COP28 President-Designate was part of a roundtable that discussed climate solutions.

The roundtable was also joined by King Charles III alongside Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London; Rt Hon. Graham Stuart MP, Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero; the Vice-Chancellors of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge; and the CEOs of HSBC, AstraZeneca, OVO Energy, and Gridserve.

Dr. Al Jaber suggested that if we cut emissions by 43 percent in the next seven years, then a holistic ecosystem is required that connects policy, technology, finance and people.

"We need supportive policies to stimulate adoption of clean energies and incentivize decarbonization," he explained, WAM reported. "We obviously need to apply the latest technologies rapidly and at scale."

He continued, "That will require finance and lots of capital across the world, particularly in emerging and developing economies. And a critical success factor is people. We need capacity building, and skills development to train young people for the jobs of the future."

Dr. Al Jaber noted that they need to deliver not only climate action but also socio-economic opportunity simultaneously.

"This is a moment of clarity that we must face with total honesty – we need a major course correction, and we need it now. Our goal must be to stop talking and start delivering," he concluded.

Dr. Al Jaber also held a meeting with other UK Government Ministers from various departments in order to discuss areas for collaboration ahead of COP28, which is scheduled from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12, this year. It will take place in Expo City Dubai.

During this visit, Dr. Al Jaber also visited Greg Jackson, who is CEO of Octopus Energy Group, which is a renewable energy company, aiming to generate greener power at a low cost.

Aside from meeting the officials and business people, he also addressed the youth and said, "Your generation is critical because you will inherit some of the greatest challenges of climate change and will also provide many of the solutions."

He noted that youth's perspectives must be heard and they should be empowered to make a difference.