The fight against global warming must not be waged at the expense of economic growth, Sultan al-Jaber, president of COP28 and director of the national oil company of the United Arab Emirates, said on Monday, AFP informs, Agerpres reads.

„We must limit the global increase in temperatures by 1.5 degrees Celsius without slowing down economic growth,” said Sultan al-Jaber, who is also Minister of Industry and his country’s special climate envoy.

„We need to make our planet richer and safer at the same time,” he added during the inauguration ceremony of the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in Abu Dhabi.

Even before its organization in late November 2023 in Dubai, COP28 raised skepticism among environmental activists.

They believe that appointing a director from the oil industry to lead the next UN Climate Conference „threatens the legitimacy and effectiveness of COP28”.

Sultan al-Jaber is the CEO of the oil giant ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company), but he is also in charge of Masdar, a Saudi company specializing in renewable energies.

However, his appointment as president of COP28 was welcomed by the American climate envoy, John Kerry.

After difficult negotiations, COP27, which took place in November 2022 in Egypt, ended with the adoption of a highly contested text on helping poor countries affected by climate change.

Agerpres