The leader of the COP28 meeting, Sultan Al Jaber, recently said during a live event that The Guardian noted that there is “no scientific evidence to indicate that it is necessary to phase out fossil fuels in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees”.
– He is not right about that. Phasing out fossil fuels is the most important thing we can do to stop global warming, says Climate and Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari (L) to SVT.
According to Romina Pourmokhtari, Sultan Al Jaber’s statement is problematic, but she also believes that it could lead to increased pressure on the United Arab Emirates.
– It is important that we get the biggest emitters and fossil fuel countries on board with the climate transition. So above all, it is good that we are having a discussion about this now.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that “the research is clear. The 1.5 degree limit is only possible if we stop burning all fossil fuels”.
Criticized decision
The fact that Sultan Al Jaber was selected as the leader of the climate summit has been strongly criticized because of his role as CEO of the state-owned oil and gas company ADNOC. Among other things, over 100 members of the US Congress and EU parliamentarians have demanded his resignation.
Some say it’s a sign that the oil lobby has taken control of the climate summit, while others say he might be the right person to put pressure on other oil sheiks.
– He is the chairman, so it is clear that it affects the outcome. But precisely because the United Arab Emirates is a fossil fuel country, they get very high pressure and a lot of scrutiny on what they write about these issues, says Romina Pourmokhtari.
In the clip, you can hear Climate and Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari’s comment about the COP28 leader’s statement.