The Sultan holds many titles, but is most widely known as the president of
Fossil fuels have been considered the primary culprit behind the planet-warming climate crisis, but there could be some silver lining in the fact that the UAE is well-connected to other major oil-producing countries, and could thus sway them to take the tough policy decisions necessary to save the planet. However, the economies of these nations are heavily dependent on their oil reserves, and thus, have remained staunchly uncooperative.
Almost predictably, discussions seemed to have taken a turn for the bleak once again. In a recent address, Prince
The Prince remarked that phasing down our dependence on fossil fuels was not a practical solution in the current state of things. This comes a mere week after United Nations Secretary-General
This isn't even the first time climate experts have crossed knives with the head of an oil-producing country. A few days ago, Al Jaber himself remarked that there is "no science" behind the notion that cutting out fossil fuels will help us restrict global warming to 1.5°C.
The scientific community refuted this stance vehemently, explaining that there is, in fact, a wealth of scientific evidence demonstrating that a total phase-out is non-negotiable to save the planet from warming to oblivion.
According to an opinion piece by climate scientist Steve Pye, a 2021 research paper published just before the 2021 COP26 summit notes that 90% of the world's coal and 60% of its old and
More recently, another study stressed that for us to stay below 1.5°C, coal, oil and gas supply must decline by 95%, 62% and 42%, respectively, between 2020 and 2050.Even these are also optimistic scenarios based on an assumed trajectory of technology development, which many experts already consider more than realistic.
But forget independent studies, even the world's most premier organisations rally behind the phase-out front. Both the Intergovernmental Panel on
Nevertheless, COP28 is a marathon, not a race. While distraught, many continue hoping that oil giants will come around and agree to the terms necessary to save our planet in the limited time we have left.