(Sapporo) Developing countries are “extremely important” in the global fight against global warming and must therefore have greater access to funding in this area, the president of the future COP28 in Dubai pleaded on Saturday.
“I am in favor of stronger ambitions” in the fight against climate change, said in an interview with AFP Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, who was attending the G7 ministerial meeting on climate, energy and climate change. ‘Environment organized this weekend in Sapporo, in the north of Japan.
But more ambitious measures on this front must be “coupled” with more “accessible” financing to emerging countries, he pleaded.
“The time has come” to have “a fair agreement for the countries of the South”, which so far receive the least funds for climate issues when they are “those who need it most”, has still insisted Mr. al-Jaber, also Minister of Industry and Advanced Technologies of the United Arab Emirates.
“Very low confidence”
The G7 should commit on Sunday to work with the other developed countries to succeed in mobilizing this year an envelope of 100 billion dollars per year for the fight of emerging countries against global warming, according to a last provisional version of the final press release of the group. consulted by AFP.
This promise of developed nations dates back to 2009 and should therefore be achieved three years behind the initial target of 2020.
“There are a lot of expectations [des pays du Sud vis-à-vis de ceux du Nord, NDLR] but very low confidence,” observed Mr. al-Jaber, who embarked a few months ago on a major world tour intended to listen to the grievances of developing countries.
He also underlined the need to find a “balance between passion and realism” on the climate, in order to reach a “concrete” and “pragmatic” agreement at COP28.
His appointment at the start of the year at the head of this major UN climate conference was greeted with suspicion by environmental NGOs. Because Mr. al-Jaber is also the managing director of ADNOC, the national oil giant of the United Arab Emirates.
He defended himself on Saturday to AFP by recalling that he was also the founder of Masdar, the Emirati national giant in renewable energies and by stressing that his country has been working on its energy transition “for more than 20 years “.
In a speech he made on Saturday behind closed doors before the G7 ministers meeting in Sapporo and of which AFP obtained a copy, Mr. al-Jaber also called on the world to triple the funds available for the fight against climate change for emerging countries by 2030.
“We must triple the capacities” of the world in renewable energies by 2030 and “multiply them by six by 2040”, he added.