Summit Chairman Sultan al-Jaber Says Ending Fossil Fuels Could “Turn Humanity Back To Cave Age”

He made the remarks during an online event organized by the She Changes Climate initiative, according to a video released by the Guardian.

Words that resurface and leave a stain. The Emirati president of COP28, Sultan al-Jaber, questioned the need to move away from fossil fuels to limit global warming to 1.5°C, during a tense exchange in November with former Irish president Mary Robinson, reported by the Guardian Sunday December 3.

Since the start of the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, many countries and companies have announced commitments to reduce their use of fossil fuels such as gas and coal. These energy sources emit greenhouse gases responsible for accelerating global warming, which must be reduced to limit warming to less than 1.5°C, or even 2°C, by 2100.

“Show me the road map for an exit from fossil fuels that is compatible with socio-economic development, without sending the world back to the age of caves”however declared Sultan al-Jaber during an online event organized on November 21 by the She Changes Climate initiative, according to a video released by the Guardian. He was responding to questions from Mary Robinson, former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Comments “bordering on climate denial”

“I will in no way subscribe to alarmist discussions. No scientific study, no scenario, says that the exit from fossil fuels will allow us to reach 1.5°C”, continued the president of COP28. “1.5°C is my North Star. And a reduction and an exit from fossil fuels are, in my opinion, inevitable. It is essential. But we must be serious and pragmatic.” These comments sparked an outcry. Scientists interviewed by the Guardian denounced comments “incredibly disturbing” And “on the verge of climate denial”.

Sultan al-Jaber, who is also director of Adnoc, the national oil company of the United Arab Emirates, has stuck to the same line every time he speaks since June. Namely that the reduction of fossils is inevitable, but that we must first build the energy system of tomorrow before disconnecting fossils. And that developed countries must set an example.