BAKU,Azerbaijan,Nov. 11,2024 -- Dr. SultanAl Jaber today delivered his handover address as COP28 President on the first day of COP29 in Azerbaijan,concluding a landmark term defined by breakthroughprogress acrosstheclimate agenda. Duringthespeechhecalled onallPartiesto "prove once again that we can unite,act and deliver" over the next two weeks in Baku.
"By delivering the historic UAE Consensus,we accomplished what many thought was impossible," Dr. Al Jaber said at a ceremony marking the official transfer of the Presidency to H.E. Mukhtar Babayev.
NegotiatorsatCOP28had"provedthatmultilateralismcanmovethedialandmakeadifference," he told delegates. "In the end,determination conquered doubt and your hard work paid off with first after first for climate progress."
Dr.Al Jaber saidthat despite COP29being held at atime of complexity and conflict,"theUnited ArabEmirates willalwayschoose partnershipsoverpolarization,dialogueoverdivision andpeace over provocation."
Inhisspeech,theoutgoingPresidentsaidhehadbeen"humbled bytheexperience"andthanked the many people who helped deliver the "historic,comprehensive and groundbreaking UAE Consensus," including His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan,President of the United Arab Emirates,and the entire UAE leadership.
Since its inception at COP28 last year,the UAE Consensus has emerged as the defining point of reference for global climate ambition and sustainable development. It contains a series of firsts across the climate agenda,including agreement on a just,orderly and equitable energy transition,and goals for tripling renewable energy capacity,doubling energy efficiency and ending deforestation by the end of the decade.
"Progress did not end when the gavel came down on the UAE Consensus," Dr. Al Jaber said. "In the months since the end of COP28,the initiatives we launched have gathered pace." To date,55 companies have joined the Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC),covering 44 percent of global oil production. The OGDC is "the most comprehensive private sector partnership on decarbonization to date," he said.
Highlighting the importance of collaboration,Dr.Al Jaber referenced a summit held earlier this month inAbu Dhabi that brought together leaders in climate,energy,artificial intelligence and in an integrated effort to drive low-carbon growth.
"Whensectors work together,wecanlift economies andlower emissions.We can makeclimate and socio-economicprogress,andwe canturndeclarations onpaper intodecisive action onthe ground," he said.
Progresshasalsobeenmadeinfinance,withthePhilippinesbeingappointedasthehostcountry for the Board of the Fund for Responding to Lossand Damage. The COP28 President called on Parties to contribute to the fund,which was operationalized and capitalized at COP28 last year. To date,more than $850 million has been pledged to the fund and funding arrangements ALTÉRRA,the world's largest climate-focused investment fund also launched at COP28,has placed $6.5 billion with impact investors – "a model that must be built on," Dr.Al Jaber said.
AtCOP29,Partiesmustdeliver aNewCollectiveQuantifiedGoalonclimate financethatis"robust and capable of fully implementing the UAE Consensus," Dr.Al Jaber said.
"At COP28,we broke new ground and set many precedents," he told delegates. One of the most important is the COP Presidencies Troika – a new "mechanism for momentum" uniting the Presidencies of COP28,COP29 and COP30.
TheTroika willcontinuetomobilizemultilateralplatforms,fromtheUNtotheG20,to"solidifythe legacy of the UAE Consensus," Dr.Al Jaber said,urging all Parties to follow the roadmap it set for keeping 1.5°C within reach.
Dr. Al Jaber closed out his speech with a call to action and some words of advice for the incoming COP29 President H.E. Babayev. He said: "The consensus we achieved in Dubai was historic. Yet history willjudge us by our actions,not our words…. Let positivity prevail and let it power the process. Let actions speak louder than words. Let results outlast the rhetoric and remember,we are what we do,not what we say."
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