COP28 stuck in row over 'back to cave' comment of summit president Sultan al-Jaber

COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber sounded increasingly frustrated off camera, saying he was in charge of the climate summit but they were asking for phase-out of fossil fuel. When he suggested such a phase-out would take the world 'back into caves', a UN official retorted, saying she lives with solar power in remote Kenya and not living in a cave.

Dubai (UAE) : The Emirati leading the United Nations' COP28 climate talks walked out on stage Monday to a room full of journalists to offer a 17-minute list of what he described as the stunning successes made so far in the summit.

Then COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber spent the rest of the time criticizing the media covering his contradictory remarks about phasing out fossil fuels that again raised the concerns of activists about him heading a state-run energy company that plans to increase its production of crude oil and natural gas.

Sultan al-Jaber's comments highlight the dualities of the United Arab Emirates, an autocratic federation of seven sheikhdoms. It's filled with modern skyscrapers but has no freedom of speech. It punches above its weight on the world stage but isn't used to publicly answering probing questions. And now it wants the popular support of a climate conference filled with some who want the lifeblood of the country's economy shut off.

The latest firestorm, this one over remarks he made on a recorded videoconference a few weeks ago, shows the small cracks starting to appear in the porcelain vase that is Dubai's hosting of COP28. On Sunday, The Guardian newspaper published video from the call, which included al-Jaber off-camera sounding increasingly frustrated, at one point telling three leading women involved with climate change and gender: "I am telling you I am the man in charge. You're asking for a phase-out of fossil fuel," al-Jaber said.

"Please, help me, show me for a phase-out of fossil fuel that will allow for sustainable socio-economic development, unless you want to take the world back into caves. Responding to the remark, U.N. Environment Program Executive Director Inger Andersen said she lives in Kenya with solar power and clean electricity from the local utility. I'm not living in a cave," she added. "That's all I can say."

Al-Jaber also said on the call: "There is no science out there, or no scenario out there that says that the phase-out of fossil fuel is what's going to achieve 1.5 (degrees Celsius) 1.5 is my North Star. And a phase-down, and a phase-out of fossil fuel, in my view, is inevitable, it is essential, but we need to be real, serious and pragmatic about it."

Al-Jaber previously has echoed United Nations' reports and scientists who have called for drastically slashing the world's emissions by nearly half in seven years to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) compared with pre-industrial times. Environment groups immediately jumped on the remarks, describing al-Jaber as being incapable of leading a summit that is focused on reducing planet-warming emissions.

The recent comments from COP28 President show how entrenched he is in fossil fuel fantasy and is clearly determined that this COP doesn't do anything to harm the interests of the oil and gas industry," said Mohamed Adow, the director of Power Shift Africa.

These remarks are a wake-up call to the world and negotiators at COP28 that they are not going to get any help from the COP presidency in delivering a strong outcome on a fossil fuel phase-out and will need to work hard to ensure a few petro-state leaders don't imperil the planet in their efforts to protect their oil profits."

Before the journalists Monday, al-Jaber repeated his oft-said phrases on being laser-focused on his North Star" of 1.5 degrees. However, he had a long pause at one point, licking his lips, before going into a minutes-long criticism of the media whose journalists from across the world had gathered to cover him.

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