UAE’s Offer To Host COP 28 Is Strong Signal From Oil Producing Country: Luxembourg Minister

By Binsal Abdulkader ABU DHABI (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 03rd Jun, 2021) 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 New 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 guarantees 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 would 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.