UAE's Al-Jaber Promises Young Activists He'll Listen; Says Nothing About Fossil Fuel Ties
U.S. News & World Report BONN, Germany (AP) The United Arab Emirates official tapped to head the next global climate summit pledged Thursday to listen to young people demanding a place at the table when negotiators gather in the Gulf nation this fall, but offered no response to criticism of his links with fossil fuel interests.
In his first appearance at a United Nations climate meeting this year, the UAE's Minister of Industry Sultan al-Jaber said he wants the COP28 summit in Dubai to be "inclusive" and deliver a game-changing outcome for international efforts to tackle climate change.
Im determined to make your participation successful, he said in a brief speech to delegates from youth activist groups that have been clamoring for leaders to take drastic action against global warming.
The comments by al-Jaber in Bonn, Germany, drew a wary response from his audience.
Many people, including children and youth all over the world, are rightly concerned about your ties and links to the fossil fuel industry and thereby the integrity of the (U.N. talks)," Clara von Glasow of the Youth Climate Movement, an international network of more than 1000 campaign groups, told al-Jaber. This is your time to prove them wrong and show that indeed you are serious.
