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From HEATED
John Kerry and Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber speak with one another at a session at COP28. Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Will world leaders agree to phase out fossil fuels at COP28, this year’s U.N. climate summit in Dubai?
It depends, in part, on whether they believe it is wise, prudent, and scientifically necessary to do so.
This is why the fossil fuel industry needs to convince the public that phasing out fossil fuels is not wise, not prudent, and not scientifically necessary. And it’s why Sultan Al Jaber, the president of COP28 and CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, recently said this:
“There is no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says that the phaseout of fossil fuel is what’s going to achieve 1.5C.”
In his remarks revealed earlier this week by The Guardian, Al Jaber not only attempted to discredit the idea that preserving a livable climate requires phasing out fossil fuels—he attempted to paint the idea as extremist.
He said he expected a “sober and mature conversation,” not an “alarmist” one, when former Ireland president Mary Robinson asked him during a panel discussion whether he would support a global effort to phase out fossil fuels.
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