COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber on a screen during a roundtable discussion on COP energy and climate commitments hosted by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris, on February 20, 2024 (AFP/ALAIN JOCARD)
“The political momentum can fade” and “we must keep the spirit of COP28” alive, its president Sultan Al Jaber declared on Tuesday, calling for mobilizing not billions but “trillions of billions” of dollars to finance the promises made in Dubai to limit global warming.
To move from promises to action, finance was the guest of honor at a round table organized in Paris by the International Energy Agency (IEA) on the theme “After COP28”, the Conference of Nations united on climate change organized last December in Dubai.
“Finance is the key factor,” Sultan al Jaber said. “The next COP was mandated to obtain a new collective objective. And now that the objective of 100 billion (annual, Editor’s note) has finally been achieved, the world must raise the bar (…): we need think in trillions of dollars, not billions.”
Azerbaijan’s chief negotiator for COP29, in his country next November, Yalchin Rafiev, pledged to “keep the momentum” from COP28, saying his country was “ideally positioned” to make the connection between the North and the South.
IEA Director Fatih Birol welcomed the “Emirates consensus”, the nickname for the final COP28 agreement, which calls for a transition away from fossil fuels and a tripling of renewable energy capacities, but he stressed that there was still “a lot of work for its implementation”.
US Climate Envoy John Kerry, on a screen during a roundtable on COP commitments on energy and climate organized by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris, on February 20, 2024 (AFP/ALAIN JOCARD)
The American envoy for Climate John Kerry followed suit by directly asking the question of the number of countries which had since “taken a step” towards phasing out fossil fuels, reiterating his call for Asia to abandon coal.
“The energy transition will lead energy into turmoil if we only focus on supply,” added Sultan Al Jaber, who also chairs the Emirates National Oil Company, calling for massive investments to decarbonize the industry heavy, in hydrogen but also in renewables. “We have to tackle demand at the same time.”
– “Hurry up” –
Participants in a round table on COP commitments on energy and climate organized by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris, February 20, 2024 (AFP/ALAIN JOCARD)
Mr. Birol, whose institution has become a key player in promoting the energy transition, announced on Tuesday four concrete actions of the IEA: the establishment from March 1 of a mechanism for monitoring climate commitments to measure the gap between “the objectives determined and what is done” and a support mechanism for countries which request it to set their objectives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (Nationally Determined Contributions, NDC in English ).
“We trust governments to deliver on their promises but we believe in the numbers,” he said.
Azerbaijan’s chief negotiator for COP29, Yalchin Rafiev, during a roundtable on COP commitments on energy and climate organized by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris , February 20, 2024 (AFP/ALAIN JOCARD)
“There will be a need for a joint effort by countries, international organizations and the private sector (…) We are here to learn and listen,” declared Yalchin Rafiev in a brief speech preceded by that of Laurent Fabius, the architect of the Paris Agreement at COP21 in 2015.
The latter welcomed the “troika” formed last week by the organizers of COP28, 29 and 30 to “build bridges”. “We are looking for trillions and we will have to do it in Baku.”
“I am quite optimistic for COP30 (…) but the situation is more complicated for COP29 because time is running out, the international situation is not good and no one knows what it will be like next November for many reasons” , added Laurent Fabius.
Nearly half of the world’s population is affected by elections in 2024, notably the United States, the European Union, Russia, in a troubled international context, with the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the war between Hamas and Israel .
The appointment of Mukhtar Babayev, formerly of the oil company Socar, as president of COP29 has also aroused concern among NGOs, as has the geopolitical situation in the Caucasus.
© 2024 AFP
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