Dr. Sultan Al Jaber on Monday delivered his handover address as COP28 President on the first day of COP29 in Azerbaijan, concluding a landmark term defined by breakthrough progress across the climate agenda.
He called on all Parties to “prove once again that we can unite, act, and deliver” over the next two weeks in Baku.
“By delivering the historic UAE Consensus, we accomplished what many thought was impossible,” Dr. Al Jaber said at a ceremony marking the official transfer of the Presidency to H.E. Mukhtar Babayev.
He said negotiators at COP28 had proved that multilateralism can move the dial and make a difference and that in the end, determination conquered doubt, and their hard work paid off with many firsts for climate progress.
Dr. Al Jaber said that despite COP29 being held at a time of complexity and conflict, “the United Arab Emirates will always choose partnerships over polarization, dialogue over division, and peace over provocation.”
In his speech, the outgoing President said he had been humbled by the experience and thanked the many people who helped deliver the historic, comprehensive, and groundbreaking UAE Consensus, including His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, and the entire UAE leadership.
Since its inception at COP28 last year, the UAE Consensus has emerged as the defining point of reference for global climate ambition and sustainable development. It contains a series of firsts across the climate agenda, including the agreement on a just, orderly, and equitable energy transition, and goals for tripling renewable energy capacity, doubling energy efficiency, and ending deforestation by the end of the decade.
“Progress did not end when the gavel came down on the UAE Consensus. In the months since the end of COP28, the initiatives we launched have gathered pace,” Dr. Al Jaber stated. “To date, 55 companies have joined the Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC), covering 44 percent of global oil production. The OGDC is the most comprehensive private sector partnership on decarbonization to date.”
Highlighting the importance of collaboration, Dr. Al Jaber referenced a summit held earlier this month in Abu Dhabi that brought together leaders in climate, energy, artificial intelligence and in an integrated effort to drive low-carbon growth.
“When sectors work together, we can lift economies and lower emissions. We can make climate and socio-economic progress, and we can turn declarations on paper into decisive action on the ground,” he said.
Progress has also been made in finance, with the Philippines being appointed as the host country for the Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage. The COP28 President called on Parties to contribute to the fund, which was operationalized and capitalized at COP28 last year. To date, more than USD 850 million has been pledged to the fund and funding arrangements ALTÉRRA, the world’s largest climate-focused investment fund also launched at COP28, has placed USD 6.5 billion with impact investors – “a model that must be built on,” Dr. Al Jaber said.
“At COP29, Parties must deliver a New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance that is robust and capable of fully implementing the UAE Consensus,” he told the delegates and added: “At COP28, we broke new ground and set many precedents. One of the most important is the COP Presidencies Troika, a new mechanism for momentum uniting the Presidencies of COP28, COP29 and COP30.”
The Troika will continue to mobilize multilateral platforms, from the UN to the G20, to “solidify the legacy of the UAE Consensus,” Dr. Al Jaber said, urging all Parties to follow the roadmap it set for keeping 1.5°C within reach.
The outgoing president closed his speech with a call to action and some words of advice for the incoming COP29 President H.E. Babayev.
“The consensus we achieved in Dubai was historic. Yet history will judge us by our actions, not our words…. Let positivity prevail and let it power the process. Let actions speak louder than words. Let results outlast the rhetoric and remember, we are what we do, not what we say,” he concluded.