COP28 President calls on parties to implement UAE Consensus

Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and COP28 President, on Thursday called on nations to once again "unite, act and deliver” at COP29 in Baku to build on the mandate of last year’s historic UAE Consensus, which represents the "road back to Paris”. 

The UAE Consensus "represents the defining roadmap for achieving the ambition of the Paris Agreement,” Dr. Al Jaber said in an address at the opening session of Pre-COP. "As we gather against a backdrop of continuing geopolitical conflict, let us again find common cause across every pillar of the climate agenda. What we delivered in Dubai, let us build on in Baku. Let us once again unite, act and deliver.”

Pre-COP, taking place this week in Baku, is a preparatory meeting of ministers and negotiators ahead of COP29, being held in the Azerbaijan capital next month.

While Dr. Al Jaber acknowledged that many issues remain unresolved, finance will be a key priority, he told delegates.

"Finance was a cornerstone of the UAE Consensus,” he said. "We established a "triple A” framework for making finance more available, accessible and affordable.”

The New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on Climate Finance, which is scheduled to be adopted at COP29, "must provide the means to implement the UAE Consensus” and "the quantum we agree on should meet the size of the challenge,” the COP28 President said.

"We must ensure that funds target the most vulnerable first to help them build climate resilience and recover from climate impacts,” he told delegates. "And all previous pledges must be met, all future promises honoured.”

Dr. Al Jaber also urged delegates to finalise negotiations on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement - which focuses on the development of carbon markets - without delay. "We need robust, high-integrity carbon markets that drive investments in both mitigation and adaptation - and we need them now,” he said.

Mitigation and adaptation are equally important, Dr. Al Jaber told delegates, calling on Parties to meet the agreed goal of doubling adaptation finance and to embed fully-funded strategies in their National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). The UAE Framework on Global Climate Resilience, adopted at COP28, "connects the dots between sectors to protect nature, lives and livelihoods” and provides "a practical plan that all Parties should follow,” he said.

On mitigation, "let’s not reinvent the wheel,” Dr. Al Jaber said, calling on Parties "to follow through on what we all signed up to” at COP28. "The UAE Consensus is the road back to Paris,” he said. 

The next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which must be submitted by February, "must align with these agreements to keep 1.5 within reach,” Dr. Al Jaber said. "They must be economy wide, they must cover all GHGs, and they must seize the opportunity of climate action as a driver of sustainable economic growth.”

The world could achieve two-thirds of Paris-aligned targets just by implementing the UAE Consensus goal of tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency improvements, the COP28 President said, citing analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The world is set to add more than 5,500GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, according to a report released this week by the IAE, almost three times as much as was added from 2017 to 2023. However, Dr. Al Jaber noted that the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has calculated that meeting the goal of tripling capacity this decade will require tripling investment to $1.5 trillion annually.

"These investments are worth making because the goals of the UAE Consensus make climate sense and economic sense,” he said. "In fact, the UAE Consensus just makes common sense.”

The COP Presidencies Troika - the collaboration between the Presidencies of COP28, COP29 and COP30 - will continue to advocate for UAE Consensus across multilateral platforms, including the G7 and G20, Dr. Al Jaber said.

The COP28 President also spoke today at an event organised by the COP Presidencies Troika, where he said the body will continue to promote international cooperation and drive ambition in the next round of NDCs.

"We need to collaborate to ensure that every NDC has the highest ambition possible, is balanced across every pillar of the climate agenda and has means of implementation at its core,” Dr. Al Jaber said, calling on Parties to share best practices, enable the transfer of technologies, and promote investment across sectors and across the Global South.

The next round of NDCs are "not only crucial for keeping 1.5°C within reach, they represent a massive opportunity for socioeconomic development, in line with the science and aligned to Paris,” he said.

"Through enhanced international cooperation, we can ensure that equity is embedded in climate progress and that we leave no one behind,” Dr. Al Jaber said. 

WAM