Baku: Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and COP28 President, called for nations to unite and build on the UAE Consensus at the upcoming COP29 conference in Baku.
Speaking at the opening session of Pre-COP, the minister urged global leaders to continue the momentum achieved in Dubai, emphasizing that the UAE Consensus serves as a critical “road back to Paris” and a key framework for achieving the Paris Agreement’s ambitions.
Addressing the backdrop of ongoing geopolitical conflicts, Dr. Al Jaber said that, “Let us once again unite, act, and deliver. What we achieved in Dubai, we must now build upon in Baku.”
The Pre-COP meeting, a preparatory event for COP29 to be held in Baku next month, gathers ministers and negotiators to address unresolved issues ahead of the climate summit. Dr. Al Jaber highlighted finance as a top priority, reaffirming the importance of the UAE Consensus in making climate finance more accessible and affordable.
“Finance was a cornerstone of the UAE Consensus. We established a ‘triple A’ framework for making finance more available, accessible, and affordable,” he said. Dr. Al Jaber called for the swift adoption of the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on Climate Finance at COP29, urging that it should align with the scale of global climate challenges.
COP28 President pressed for the urgent finalization of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which focuses on carbon markets. “We need robust, high-integrity carbon markets that drive investments in both mitigation and adaptation-and we need them now,” he stated.
Dr. Al Jaber emphasized the balance between mitigation and adaptation, urging countries to double adaptation finance and fully integrate well-funded strategies into their National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).
The COP28 President cited analysis from the International Energy Agency (IEA), noting that two-thirds of Paris-aligned targets could be achieved by tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency improvements. He further referenced the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) report, which estimated that tripling renewable capacity by 2030 would require an investment of $1.5 trillion (AED 5.505 trillion) annually.
Dr. Al Jaber reiterated the ongoing collaboration between the COP28, COP29, and COP30 Presidencies, known as the COP Troika, which will continue to advocate for the UAE Consensus across multilateral platforms, including the G7 and G20.
At an event organized by the COP Presidencies Troika, Dr. Al Jaber called for enhanced international cooperation and shared best practices to promote higher ambition in the next round of NDCs, particularly across the Global South.