World Is 'Way Off Track' In Its Efforts To Fight Climate Change, Says COP28 Chief

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, president-designate of the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP28, urged the world to aim for transformational progress in its fight against climate change.

In his opening remarks at the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial Summit on Monday, Al Jaber said a piecemeal approach might not be enough to curb the effects of global warming and that the world was "way off track" in its efforts to tackle the climate crisis.

The two-day Copenhagen Climate Ministerial Summit was attended by at least 40 climate leaders and government ministers and was the first climate ministerial meeting leading up to COP28.

Addressing the summit, Al Jaber said, "We need to build on the foundation achieved at COP27 and move from goals to getting it done," before adding that the international community was way behind its target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, as agreed upon during COP21 in 2015, Gulf News reported. "Incremental steps will simply not cut it, we need transformational progress in the next seven years across mitigation, adaptation, climate finance, and loss and damage."

The minister of Industry and Advanced Technology also called on nations to "scale up all available zero-carbon energy sources while minimizing the emissions from all other energy sources," saying technology that nobody can afford is practically useless. "Governments should therefore adopt smart policies to incentivize breakthroughs in battery shortage and commercialize carbon capture and the hydrogen value chain."

The COP28 chief also noted the Mitigation Work Program should be made with a "business mindset" and should incorporate short-term key performance indicators and a driven, action-oriented agenda. "Remember that the enemy is emissions, not progress."

Al Jaber urged governments to create a framework for the Global Goal on Adaptation that is suitable for developing nations, helps safeguard fragile biodiversity, and improves nature-based solutions. "At a minimum, we need to double adaptation finance and adopt national policies that build every country's capacity to adapt to climate impacts," he said.

"We must bring the Sharm El Sheikh outcome on loss and damage to life. This means the loss and damage fund must be fully operationalized, and we need the right governance and structures in place to target the most vulnerable communities," he added.

This year's climate change conference will be staged at Expo City in Dubai from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12.