Quote:COP28 president says there's "no science" in fossil fuel phase-out calls
COP28 president Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber's newly reported comments that there's "no science" behind the push to phase out fossil fuels were criticized by activists at the U.N. climate summit in Dubai on Sunday.
Context: The UAE climate envoy and CEO of state oil firm ADNOC made the comments during a Nov. 21 online discussion while being challenged to take a lead on the matter by former Republic of Ireland President Mary Robinson, a longtime climate activist, per video that The Guardian published Sunday.
Flashback: United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said Friday: "The science is clear. The 1.5 degree [2.7°F] limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning fossil fuels — not reduce, not abate, [but] phase out with a clear time frame aligned with 1.5 degrees."
Zoom in: Robinson said at the SHE Changes Climate online event that the climate crisis is "hurting" people because there's no commitment to a fossil fuel phase-out, as leaders of the EU and others have called for.
Al-Jaber said 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°C" above preindustrial levels, a Paris Agreement target.
Axios
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