Cairo: Tarek El Molla Minister of Petroleum & Mineral Resources, confirmed that the 28th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP 28), which will be hosted by the UAE from 30th November to 12th December,2023, will provide a new opportunity to further unite global efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

He said in a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), that the UAE's hosting of COP28 was a successful selection, given the significant efforts and preparations that have been made so far and the extent of the keenness to present an exceptional summit that builds strongly on what was presented by the COP27, which Egypt hosted last November in Sharm El Sheikh, confirming the keenness of the two summits on the climate effects on people.

El Molla pointed out that new renewable energy technology is one of the solutions to address emissions that affect the biological diversity of wild and natural organisms, stressing the importance of everyone participating in the dialogue and action, and increasing investments allocated to transition to clean energy in order to reduce emissions.

He said that COP27 recognised the importance of increasing participation and investments as well as the presence of everyone at the dialogue table in order to integrate efforts to preserve the environment, with awareness of the environmental effects resulting from climate change and the extent of their impact on people and future generations.

He noted that Egypt presented clear visions about transformation to use clean energy and the environmental and economic gains that can be achieved if this is evaluated.

El Molla said, “We have already applied this in the oil and gas sector in Egypt, and this has resulted in multiple environmental and economic gains that have supported us to continue in many projects to recover flare gas and reduce emissions.”

He called for concerted efforts and cooperation among all parties to advance climate action to ensure a sustainable future, especially since COP28 will feature the first global stocktake to measure the ongoing efforts over two years to determine the extent of progress made by the concerned governments in implementing climate action plans to confront global warming and other environmental issues with the highest priority.