COP28 President Dr Sultan Al Jaber speaks during the second Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, in New York City on Sept 19, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

BEIJING — Ahead of the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, COP28 President-Designate Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber called for a fairer deal on climate financing for the Global South.

"The entire international financial system must be modernized to make climate finance more available, accessible and affordable to the Global South," Al Jaber said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Speaking of China's role in the global fight against climate change, Al Jaber said China is a global leader in renewable energy expansion and is the powerhouse that has the ability to triple renewable power generation globally

COP28 is scheduled to be held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), from Nov 30 to Dec 12.

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Al Jaber, also UAE minister of industry and advanced technology, said the COP28 Presidency is focused on delivering an inclusive process that brings everyone together to take concrete steps to address climate change and meet the ambitions set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The COP28 Presidency has developed its Action Plan with four key pillars: fast-tracking a just and orderly energy transition, fixing climate finance, focusing on people, nature, lives and livelihoods, and underpinning everything with full inclusivity, according to Al Jaber.

"It is our belief that all stakeholders must be heard to reach a consensus," he said. "We want everyone who comes to COP28 to come with a mindset of positivity, hope, action and solidarity to translate the Paris Agreement into a practical plan and realistic roadmap that the whole world can follow."

Speaking of China's role in the global fight against climate change, Al Jaber said China is a global leader in renewable energy expansion and is the powerhouse that has the ability to triple renewable power generation globally. "China is key in the decarbonization of the energy we use today," he said.

According to his observation, 56 percent of China's overseas energy investment in participating countries of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the first half of 2023 went into renewable energy such as solar, wind, or hydropower projects.

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In practice, China's endeavor in the BRI has shifted to supporting the green economy: not only did energy-related investments become greener, but Chinese companies significantly expanded interests in metals related to the energy transition, such as lithium, and invested in manufacturing in green industries, such as batteries, Al-Jaber added.

More than three-quarters of the world's solar panels, around 60 percent of the world's wind turbines, and three-quarters of the lithium-ion batteries on this planet come from China. "China is not just making what the world needs for the energy transition, its industrial strength is also driving down costs for every nation," he said.

Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President-Designate and UAE's Special Envoy for Climate Change, talks during the Climate Future Week at Museum of the Future in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Sept 30, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

"The UAE and China maintain a robust partnership, and I am confident that this will continue to grow and strengthen," Al Jaber said. "In practical terms, China and the UAE can work together to boost innovation in high-end, cross-cutting technologies."

Without rapid action to cut CO2 emissions, scientists say Earth will cross the 1.5°C threshold in the coming decade, unleashing far more severe climate change effects on people, wildlife and ecosystem

Meanwhile, the COP28 Presidency and two renewable energy organisations on Monday urged governments to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 as part of efforts to stop global warming exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Countries hope to strike a deal on the increase in capacity at the latest round of global climate negotiations set to get under way in Dubai in late November, which will focus on the gaps in the implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement that established the 1.5 C ceiling.

Renewable energy capacity needs "to reach more than 11,000 GW" by 2030, the COP28 presidency, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Global Renewables Alliance said in a joint report.

Most major economies are already on board with that goal. Group of 20 nations, among them China, the United States and India, agreed in September to pursue efforts to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030.

Without rapid action to cut CO2 emissions, scientists say Earth will cross the 1.5 C threshold in the coming decade, unleashing far more severe climate change effects on people, wildlife and ecosystems.

The report also called for doubling energy efficiency, urging targets with specific time frames, strong regulatory frameworks, financial incentives and awareness campaigns.

With Reuters inputs