“These talks are a chance for the UAE to address the criticism they have faced, and start setting out a really ambitious agenda for what countries should be preparing to bring to Cop28,” he said. Many climate campaigners have criticised Al Jaber’s dual role, and the UAE’s plans to continue drilling.Īlex Scott, the climate diplomacy and geopolitics programme leader at the E3G thinktank, said Al Jaber must respond to his critics at the Petersberg dialogue. Adnoc is one of the world’s biggest national oil companies, and the Guardian revealed last month its plans for a massive expansion of fossil fuel production. He is chief executive of the UAE national oil company, Adnoc, as well as founder of the Masdar renewable energy company, and minister of advanced technology for the UAE. Everyone is affected and the most vulnerable communities, across the global south, who have done the least to cause climate change, are the most affected.”Īl Jaber has faced strong criticism since taking on the Cop28 role earlier this year.

We are already seeing the impacts, from rising sea levels to failed harvests, to food, water and energy insecurity. This is a moment of clarity that we must face with total honesty. This is likely to show that most countries are falling well short of the cuts in greenhouse gases needed to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C, the more stringent of the two goals in the Paris agreement, in line with scientific advice.Īl Jaber told ministers at the Petersberg dialogue: “The most recent IPCC report has already made it crystal clear that we are way off track.

Al Jaber, addressing the conference, vowed to use Cop28 to fulfil the goals of the 2015 Paris agreement.Īt Cop28, countries will for the first time formally assess progress since Paris, a process known as the global stocktake. Ministers from around the world are gathered in Berlin this week for the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, an annual meeting on climate held by the German government. As well as dealing with the consequences of climate disaster such as heatwaves, floods and droughts, doctors will be faced with the increased stress on patients from rising temperatures, and higher temperatures will allow for the increased spread of disease vectors such as mosquitoes.

The climate crisis is likely to place further burdens on already overstretched global health systems.

Towards bethlehem