“We are (meeting) in an oil-producing country, surrounded by oil-producing countries, but we have made a decision (here) to start moving away from oil and gas,” Dan Jorgensen, Denmark’s Minister of Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy, lamented at the end of the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The first global stocktake of the Paris Agreement was adopted on the 13th. Together with the Loss and Damage Fund, a just transition and many other issues, the "UAE Consensus" was formed, opening a new chapter in the global climate governance process.

The UAE has responded to external doubts with practical actions. As an important oil producer in the Middle East and the Gulf region and a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), until the early days of COP28, parties continued to raise questions about whether the UAE has the ability and willingness to lead major agendas such as global climate negotiations.

Zou Zhiqiang, a researcher at the Center for Middle East Studies at Fudan University, told China Business News that the UAE has demonstrated its great power ambition and international leadership to lead the global energy transformation through its active stance on global climate change, its huge investment in various aspects, and its coordination and mediation among oil-producing countries. It has broken the doubts of the outside world about whether it can sincerely promote the progress of climate change negotiations as an oil-producing country, and has significantly improved its international image and status.


UAE under pressure to host conference

"In the final agreement we mentioned fossil fuels, this is the first time in history." COP28 Chairman Jaber said at the closing plenary session of COP28, which also won him a round of applause.

In the adopted "UAE Consensus", although it ultimately failed to include "phasing out fossil fuels", it stated that it would "promote the transition away from fossil fuels". This was a solid step towards the goals set in the Paris Agreement and sent a strong positive signal to the international community.

It is not easy to write the words "fossil fuels". During the negotiation process, oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia strongly opposed the inclusion of content targeting fossil fuels in the text of the agreement. Several negotiators revealed that Jaber was "under tremendous pressure from Saudi Arabia."

On December 6, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) sent an urgent letter to 13 members and allies, asking them to take immediate action during the COP28 climate negotiations, opposing targeting fossil fuels and focusing instead on emissions reductions.

At the same time, the UAE's status as an oil-producing country also puts it under a lot of pressure. On the eve of COP28, many parties said that the UAE plans to use COP28 to reach a fossil fuel agreement. Jaber is not only the UAE’s special envoy for climate change, but also the chief executive officer (CEO) of the UAE’s largest oil company, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

On November 21, shortly before COP28, Jaber expressed controversial views while discussing fossil fuels at a conference, triggering a backlash from environmental groups. Finally, Jaber held a press conference on December 4 to respond to the controversy and asked the outside world to "judge us by what we will ultimately deliver."

Oil-producing countries will continue to take over

According to Xinhua News Agency, Zhao Yingmin, head of the Chinese delegation to COP28 and Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment, said that the series of results achieved by the conference demonstrated the current international community's joint efforts to deal with climate change, and also reflected the willingness of all parties to adhere to multilateralism and actively demonstrate more flexibility and constructive trends.

Zou Zhiqiang told China Business News that in addition to agreeing on a roadmap to "transform away from fossil fuels", the resolution also promised to triple renewable energy production capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030. This is also the first time the impact of fossil fuels has been officially mentioned in the document, which is a historic achievement.

In fact, the UAE is indeed a pioneer among the Gulf countries in the Middle East in pursuing energy transition and economic diversification. The International Renewable Energy Agency (International Renewable Energy Agency), established in 2009, is headquartered in the United Arab Emirates. In October 2021, the UAE became the first country in the Middle East to announce the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, leading the trend of regional countries participating in the fight against global climate change.

After the closing of COP28, Mohammed Jalal Al Rayssi, President of the Emirates News Agency, said that the UAE used its professional knowledge and extensive international relations to ensure the successful hosting of COP28, making it a key turning point in mankind's joint fight against climate change and setting new standards for future climate conferences.

It was also announced at this COP28 that the conference has approved Azerbaijan’s application to host the next Conference of the Parties (COP29), and the next conference will be held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

It is worth noting that, like the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan is also an oil-producing country and an ally of OPEC. As a result, the outside world has also raised a lot of concerns about Azerbaijan's hosting of the climate conference. In this regard, Azerbaijani President Aliyev defended on social media: "Purifying the environment and green development are one of our national priorities. Renewable energy is becoming increasingly popular in Azerbaijan."