Cop28 President welcomes G7 summit’s support of UAE Consensus

Dr Sultan Al Jaber says countries delivered critical call to action on climate during gathering in Italy

Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Cop28 President, has praised the G7 summit's climate talks.

The Group of Seven countries delivered significant support on climate during a summit in Italy this week, the Cop28 President has said.

Dr Sultan Al Jaber, who is also UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, welcomed the G7 leaders’ communique issued on Friday, which addressed efforts to speed up the clean energy transition.

The G7 members reaffirmed ambitious goals, agreed during Cop28 in Dubai last year, to triple renewable energy capacity, double global energy efficiency by 2030, and strengthen energy security.

The summit communique “supports the commitments made in the historic UAE Consensus to keep 1.5°C within reach", the Cop28 President said, referring to the target of restricting global temperature increases.

Dr Al Jaber travelled to Puglia in Italy on Friday as part of the UAE delegation that accompanied President Sheikh Mohamed.

"The statement acknowledges the GST [Global Stocktake] outcomes from Cop28 and highlights the need to scale and speed up climate actions across mitigation, adaptation, and means of implementation," he said.

The Cop28 President welcomed calls to set into motion commitments made in the UAE Consensus and said that finance will be essential in realising ambitions.

Setting a new goal for finance at Cop29 in Azerbaijan will be a "crucial enabler", Dr Al Jaber said.

“The G7 endorsement of outcomes under the Cop28 Presidential Action Agenda across agriculture, food systems and health are also encouraging indicators for their rapid implementation,” he added.

“Cop28 Presidency is hopeful that these endorsements from the G7 continue to build momentum and galvanise parties around the urgency of implementing immediate actions in this critical decade.

“As we look toward November’s G20 Leaders’ Summit in Brazil, now is the moment for all nations to ensure their next critical Nationally Determined Contribution is bold and ambitious,” he said.

The UAE Consensus was the outcome of the historic Cop28 talks held in Dubai last year.

Sheikh Mohamed was a guest at this year’s G7 summit hosted by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who invited him to an expanded gathering of the annual assembly of the heads of the world's largest developed economies.

The G7 members are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US.

Responding to Ms Meloni's opening remarks at a working session on Friday, Sheikh Mohamed noted the UAE supports a fair and balanced transition in the energy sector, stemming from the UAE Consensus.

The President said there are numerous challenges with a particularly significant impact on the Middle East and Africa, especially in the energy sector.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed attends G7 Summit in Italy - in pictures