Al Jaber: How Dare You Quote The Words That Came From My Mouth! Also, I Was Misinterpreted!

The president of Cop28 has been forced into a fierce defence of his respect for climate science, following the Guardian’s revelation of his comment that there was “no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says that the phase-out of fossil fuel is what’s going to achieve 1.5C”.

At a hastily arranged press conference at the summit in Dubai, Sultan Al Jaber, who is also CEO of the UAE’s state oil company, Adnoc, said: “I respect the science in everything I do. I have repeatedly said that it is the science that has guided the principles or strategy as Cop28 president.”

“We have always built everything, every step of the way, on the science, on the facts,” he said.

Al Jaber made the controversial comments in ill-tempered responses to former UN climate envoy Mary Robinson during an online event on 21 November. During the exchange, he also said: “Show me the roadmap for a phase-out of fossil fuel that will allow for sustainable socioeconomic development, unless you want to take the world back into caves.”

EDIT

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/live/2023/dec/04/cop28-backlash-after-president-claims-no-science-behind-fossil-fuel-phase-out