COP28 President: There's 'No Science' Behind Phase-Out of Fossil Fuels

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday December 4, 2023

The president of the ongoing COP28 climate convention has argued that there is no science behind the idea of a phasing-out of fossil fuels being needed to keep global warming to the 1.5 degrees pathway.

UAE Industry Minister and head of ADNOC Sultan Al Jaber, who is serving as president of this year's COP event, made the comments in a webinar on November 21, UK newspaper The Guardian reported on Sunday.

"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 1.5C," Al Jaber was cited as saying.

Al Jaber also argued that such a phase-out would not allow for sustainable socioeconomic development, 'unless you want to take the world back into caves', according to the report.

On Friday a group of leading shipping CEOs called for a halt to orders of new ships only capable of running on conventional bunker fuels.

US climate envoy John Kerry responded to Al Jaber's comments on Sunday.

"The G7 countries voted that there should be a phasing out of unmitigated fossil fuel emissions and what there is science for is keeping 1.5 degrees as your north star," Kerry was cited as saying by US broadcaster CNBC.

"Every decision we make should be geared to say, 'does this advance the 1.5 degrees or is it going to be more destructive and take us in the wrong direction?'"

Ship & Bunker News Team
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