COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber stresses the need for action as COP29 Baku begins
The annual UN climate conference kicked off in Baku on Monday. It is touted as the ‘Finance COP’ as global leaders come together to find solutions to some of the most pressing challenges faced by humans across the globe.
The COP29 Summit is happening against a backdrop of ‘conflict and complexity’. The geopolitical situation has become uncertain in several regions. On top of it, natural disasters are intensifying and increasing in frequency.
The UAE has handed over the presidency to Baku. During the Summit, delegates are going to arrange a deal to help susceptible countries transition to sustainable energy systems and defend against the brutal consequences of climate change.
UAE’s notable presence at COP29 Baku
COP29 comes during a tough geopolitical landscape and after the election of Donald Trump as US President. Before handing over the presidency, Dr Sultan al-Jaber, COP28 President and UAE’s minister of industry and advanced technology, delivered a speech.
Dr al-Jaber highlighted the UAE’s commitment to choose “partnership over polarisation, dialogue over division, and peace over provocation.” He said he had been “humbled” by the opportunity of leading the COP28 talks in Dubai in 2023.
The Emirati minister noted the need to “unite, act and deliver”. He asked the audience to “let positivity prevail” and “let results outlast the rhetoric.” He has a notable focus on green energy transition and believes in the need for greater climate action across the globe.
COP Presidencies Troika: Tackling climate change
The COP Presidencies Troika – an initiative involving the host countries for COP28, COP29 and COP30 in Brazil – seeks to build bridges of communication to ensure that commitments such as meeting the 2015 Paris agreement objectives are paid attention.
The UAE does not hold the COP presidency anymore. But the country is going to have a notable presence at the summit in Baku. The UAE leadership also has plans for a national pavilion at the conference on the theme “accelerating action together”.
The pavilion is set to present the UAE’s climate journey, highlighting the UAE Consensus reached during the COP28 Summit, the conference’s legacy and the Gulf state’s progress across biodiversity, food systems and climate finance.
