It’s official - Cabinet Member and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology of the United Arab Emirates, H.E. Dr Sultan Al Jaber has been appointed as the President - Designate of United Nations Climate Change - Conference of Parties 28 (COP28), to be held in Dubai this year from November 30.

Dr Al Jaber, MD and Group CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC Group), and Chairman of Masdar, is also UAE's Special Envoy for Climate Change.

With his vast experience in climate diplomacy, across the public and private sectors, and demonstrated successes across the energy sector, the appointment of H.E. Dr Al Jaber as COP28 President-Designate is a well-deserved one.

H.E. helped establish Masdar, and served seven years as its CEO, guiding its global contribution to clean technology and sustainable development. In 2009, he led Masdar's efforts in the UAE's successful bid to host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Transformational Shift in the Race to Combat Climate Crisis

In driving ADNOC’s 2030 strategy toward a more profitable upstream, more valuable downstream and more sustainable and economic gas supply, Dr Al Jaber has also led the digital transformation of the company.

It is pertinent to note that with the energy transition reaching a crucial juncture, enhancing global collaborations and cooperation in the fight against climate change to spur climate action, is critical.

Dr Al Jaber has played a key role in driving one of the most ambitious clean energy transition programmes from a Gulf state.

Thanks to Dr Al Jaber, UAE is now home to three of the largest and lowest-cost- per-kilowatt solar projects in the world and has invested more than $50 billion in renewable energy projects across 70 countries, with plans to invest another $50 billion over the next decade.

The UAE was also the first country in the Gulf region to ratify the Paris Agreement and adopt a net zero by 2050 target.

Addressing the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum, a day after UAE President appointed him as Head of COP28, Al Jaber said: "We want COP28 to be a COP of solidarity that bridges global north and south and includes public and private sectors, scientists and civil society, women and youth.

"We want it to be a practical COP, of action, for all, a COP that raises ambition. And moves from goals to actually getting it done across mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, and of course fiannce."

While the appointment elicited mixed reactions, a sizeable chunk of climate and sustainability experts is backing the UAE President's decision.

Sharing her thoughts on the appointment, H.E. Dr Nawal Al-Hosany, UAE's Permanent Representative to International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said that the appointment has been a well deserved one.

Her Excellency added: "With his vast experience in climate diplomacy, across the public and private sectors, and demonstrated successes across the energy sector, the appointment of His Excellency Dr Sultan Al Jaber as COP28 President-Designate is a fitting and well-deserved one.

"He is in the ideal position to leverage the long-standing synergies between IRENA and the UAE to scale-up our ambitions for a future powered by renewable energy solutions and advanced technologies."

Read More: Following President's Orders, H.E. Dr Sultan Al Jaber to Lead COP28