COP28 President Challenges Mainstream Climate Narrative on Fossil Fuels

Al Jaber No Science behind phasing out fossil fuels

In a startling divergence from the conventional climate dialogue, COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber has boldly questioned the so-called scientific consensus on the need to phase out fossil fuels to achieve the 1.5°C climate goal. At a recent event, Al Jaber’s remarks signaled a stark departure from UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s stance, drawing sharp criticism from environmentalists.

Al Jaber’s assertion that there is

“I accepted to come to this meeting to have a sober and mature conversation. I’m not in any way signing up to any discussion that is alarmist. 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 1.5C.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/03/back-into-caves-cop28-president-dismisses-phase-out-of-fossil-fuels

is a direct challenge to the prevailing climate doctrine. His argument strikes at the heart of policy discussions that have been increasingly dominated by calls for the rapid elimination of fossil fuels.

Drawing a line in the sand, Al Jaber posits that a wholesale phase-out of fossil fuels would regress society to a pre-industrial state, “back into caves.” This hyperbolic metaphor underscores his contention that current sustainable development cannot be disentangled from fossil fuel use.

 “Please help me, show me the roadmap for a phase-out of fossil fuel that will allow for sustainable socioeconomic development, unless you want to take the world back into caves.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/03/back-into-caves-cop28-president-dismisses-phase-out-of-fossil-fuels

“I don’t think [you] will be able to help solve the climate problem by pointing fingers or contributing to the polarisation and the divide that is already happening in the world. Show me the solutions. Stop the pointing of fingers. Stop it,”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/03/back-into-caves-cop28-president-dismisses-phase-out-of-fossil-fuels

Critics point to Al Jaber’s dual role as the chief executive of the United Arab Emirates’ state oil company, Adnoc, as a serious conflict of interest. This dual capacity has led to accusations that Al Jaber cannot impartially preside over COP28 while also steering an oil conglomerate.

The debate over fossil fuels is anticipated to be one of the most contentious issues at COP28. The final language of the agreement, whether it calls for a phase-out or a weaker “phase-down,” is expected to be a bellwether of the summit’s outcome.

While Al Jaber has called for solutions beyond finger-pointing, alarmist scientists like Bill Hare, CEO of Climate Analytics, assert that the science mandates a phase-out by mid-century. Similarly, the alarmist choir of Prof Sir David King and Dr. Friederike Otto stress the urgent need to curtail carbon emissions and dismiss the idea that fossil fuels are necessary for development.

Despite the controversy, COP28 aims to set ambitious decarbonization targets for the oil and gas industry and triple renewable energy. Al Jaber himself, also the head of the UAE’s renewable energy company Masdar, has advocated for clean energy investments and tackling operational emissions.

Al Jaber’s statements have introduced an interesting and provocative counter-narrative to the climate debate. While his comments have attracted derision from environmental groups, they reflect a broader discourse on the pragmatic challenges of transitioning from fossil fuels. As COP28 unfolds, the tension between economic pragmatism and environmental idealism will undoubtedly remain a central theme.

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Ronald Stein
December 3, 2023 2:08 pm

COP28 President is correct.
As a refresher for those attending the COP28, wind and solar do different things than crude oil.

Renewables only generate occasional electricity but cannot manufacture anything.

Crude oil is virtually never used to generate electricity but when manufactured into petrochemicals, is the basis for virtually all the products in our materialistic society that did not exist before the 1800’s.
 
We’ve become a very materialistic society over the last 200 years, and the world has populated from 1 to 8 billion because of all the products and different fuels for jets, ships, trucks, cars, military, and the space program that did not exist before the 1800’s.

Until a crude oil replacement is identified, the world cannot do without crude oil that is the basis of our materialistic “products” society.
 

ChemEng101
Reply to  Ronald Stein
December 3, 2023 3:07 pm

You are 100% correct. Having worked in the chemical and refining industry for over 20 years it is scary to think most people still do not understand this.

Bryan A
Reply to  ChemEng101
December 3, 2023 5:06 pm

So long as Greatest Emitter Country China and Third Greatest Emitter Country India are allowed to continue unabated emissions growth through mid century, emissions levels will continue to rise regardless of what the US and EU do to curb emissions and how negatively those actions affect their economies.
CO2 levels will continue to rise regardless of US and EU actions.
Especially considering the effect of increasing energy costs with the transition to weather and time of day dependent generation sources and the FF energy extraction and refinement (coal and petrochemicals) still required for their manufacture, transportation, installation and maintenance.

Reply to  Bryan A
December 3, 2023 7:00 pm

For those who are appalled by China’s and India’s CO2 emissions the solution is simple. Either stop buying the energy intensive products that cause the emissions or go back to producing their own such products. It’s not complicated.

Bryan A
Reply to  Dennis Gerald Sandberg
December 3, 2023 9:36 pm

Whenever and wherever possible, if I can determine made in China or made in India I avoid buying it and will look for local sources. Not because it may be CO2 intensive just because it’s likely cheaply made and won’t last.

Reply to  Bryan A
December 4, 2023 3:45 am

Would that include the PC (or cellphone) you are bashing out your post on?

Reply to  HotScot
December 4, 2023 3:52 am

Mine is South Korean, I think.

Reply to  Richard Page
December 5, 2023 6:57 am

Assembled, perhaps. Where are the PCB’s made?

Reply to  Bryan A
December 3, 2023 7:25 pm

Third of December in Eastern Wa. State… snow on the ground… give me some more CO2.

Reply to  sturmudgeon
December 4, 2023 3:33 am

Maybe the jet stream will blow some CO2 your way from China. They have an abundance of it over there.

Reply to  Bryan A
December 4, 2023 3:30 am

“CO2 levels will continue to rise regardless of US and EU actions.”

Yes, that is the bottom line.

No amount of climate alarmist jawboning will change this, as China and India and Indonesia and a lot of other places are going with coal and natural gas, and Western, Delusional handwringing is not going to change this.

Reply to  Tom Abbott
December 4, 2023 4:20 am

CO2 ppm in atmosphere is near plant starvation levels
The lowest level in 600 million years
The optimum for plant life is 800 to 1200 ppm, as proven by green houses, which also is far from harmful for humans.

The CO2 ppm in atmosphere due to humans is a very tiny fraction of all the CO2 circulating around the planet, in and out of sinks.
That NATURAL CO2 is hundreds of times greater than mankind CO2

Reply to  wilpost
December 4, 2023 7:57 am

We would be unable to survive without trace amounts of C14 which we get from eating herbivores that also wouldn’t survive without trace amounts of C14 which they get from plants. It has something to do with muscle and tissue development I think.

Reply to  Bryan A
December 4, 2023 3:43 am

Despite a 14% drop in global industrial activity during Covid, it had no perceptible impact on the continuing rise of atmospheric CO2.

Reply to  ChemEng101
December 4, 2023 4:11 am

Many people do understand it, but are in THE NILE about it, or hopeful some miracle comes along.

In the meantime, they cannot deviate from their idiotic Net Zero message, and glueing themselves to whatever, lest it causes division in their ranks.

Germany’s economy is in extreme do do, because of 25 years of ENERGIEWENDE, which finally has proven to a useless, ineffective, huge financial black hole

Unlimited, unvetted, just-walk-in, infiltration by unskilled, uncultured, uneducated, no-work-ethic folks, from all over, has undermined traditional life in Germany and elsewhere in Europe, with a near-zero, real-growth economy.

starzmom
Reply to  Ronald Stein
December 3, 2023 3:12 pm

Methinks the COP folks made a big mistake in their choice of venues this time around.

David Wojick
Reply to  starzmom
December 3, 2023 3:36 pm

I am sure some of think so. Me not so much. But a number of countries had already said they did not support language about phasing out fossil fuels. The Pres just said it too forcefully.

Iain Reid
Reply to  David Wojick
December 4, 2023 1:15 am

David,

I believe it needs to be said forcefully and often to slow the inertia of ‘climate consensus’?

JPadrick
Reply to  Iain Reid
December 4, 2023 9:34 am

Or, it should be more forcefully said.

barryjo
Reply to  starzmom
December 3, 2023 3:55 pm

Thank you COP folks!

Reply to  starzmom
December 4, 2023 4:26 am

But this year’s President is publicly against any restrictions on gas and oil, because both are the lifeblood of his COP 5-star venue.
The US, etc., is generously financing delegations from poor countries to attend to buy their votes, as it has done for many years, to MAKE IT LOOK LIKE THERE IS A LOT OF SUPPORT FOR IDIOCY

John Hultquist
Reply to  Ronald Stein
December 3, 2023 4:21 pm

“… but cannot manufacture anything … “

I understand your meaning, but strictly speaking this is not true.
Also, by “renewables”, I think you mean wind and solar. If trying to
explain to people that wind and solar cannot support our modern
manufacturing economy, I would not want to start with your wording.

kommando828
Reply to  John Hultquist
December 4, 2023 6:21 am

I worked in a small foundry making aluminium alloys, if there was a power cut during the melting stages then you had to bail the furnace before the contents set and avoid the removal of the plug with air hammers manually. The is no way that type of process would cope with intermittent power supply. Any processing line needs tight frequency and voltage supply, again not possible above a certain % of wind and solar as the base load cannot keep up with the changes. Basically go renewables and your manufacturing base will go elsewhere for reliable and cheaper supplies.

Reply to  John Hultquist
December 4, 2023 10:32 am

Show me the products you can make with and from wind and solar energy then.

Edward Katz
December 3, 2023 2:17 pm

Sultan Al Jaber is not only correct in his assertions but also in his claim that the global economy really has no viable alternatives for fossil fuels, at least on a scale that could replace them. What’s ironic about the stance of those who oppose his argument is that they themselves are probably at least as dependent on fossil fuel products as everyone else and among the least likely to give them up. They just want all others to do so, except only a tiny minority are listening.

Reply to  Edward Katz
December 3, 2023 2:24 pm

He is one of the very few IMPARTIAL people at the conference.

Basically everyone else is hooked, brain-washed, and/or in the pay of the “renewables” agenda.

The Sultan, on the other hand, has his people’s prosperity to consider.

Scissor
Reply to  Edward Katz
December 3, 2023 2:52 pm

Just stop deicing fluids on private jets.

Reply to  Scissor
December 3, 2023 7:32 pm

Love it!

Reply to  Edward Katz
December 3, 2023 7:31 pm

at least as dependent on fossil fuel products as everyone else “… I don’t own a jet, and have never flown other than as “Economy”.

Reply to  sturmudgeon
December 4, 2023 3:54 am

I’ve actually never flown so may be well behind everyone else in sins of ommission!

December 3, 2023 2:17 pm

And just like that, a new addition to the ‘worst skeptic’ club is becoming christened!
Welcome, Sultan Al Jaber, to those not afraid to defend the prosperity we’ve built over the last 1000 years.

 “Please help me, show me the roadmap for a phase-out of fossil fuel that will allow for sustainable socioeconomic development, unless you want to take the world back into caves.”

I wish I was there to stand and applaud, but I’m trying to keep my Carbon Footprint™ down to appease my overlord Trudeau.

Reply to  Tommy2b
December 3, 2023 3:18 pm

Environment Minister Guilbeault has gone so that neither you nor Trudeau have to. And he’s taking credit for your and Trudeau’s carbon footprint reduction.

Reply to  Tommy2b
December 3, 2023 3:19 pm

Are you sure that “christened” is the right word?

Reply to  Ben Vorlich
December 3, 2023 3:51 pm

It is for me. I’m on a mission to fully transition religious words into secularism and to be as blasphemous as possible, god dammit! Committing the ‘unforgivable sin’ {blasphemy against the holy spirit [Mark 3:28-30]} is a great way to repel any god-botherers and keep them from preaching to you.

Reply to  Tommy2b
December 3, 2023 9:03 pm

Great guns! Now go find a dictionary, and see what ‘blasphemy’ actually means. You might be amused…

Reply to  cilo
December 3, 2023 9:04 pm

P.S. Please, please, Mirriam Webster’s is not a dictionary, it is a libtard lexicon!

Reply to  Tommy2b
December 3, 2023 7:14 pm

“I accepted to come to this meeting to have a sober and mature conversation. I’m not in any way signing up to any discussion that is alarmist.”

Sounds to me like he just identified skeptics as “sober and mature”, and alarmists as those to be avoided or preferably ignored.

Reply to  Tommy2b
December 4, 2023 3:38 am

“I wish I was there to stand and applaud,”

Me, too.

I bet the Chinese and the Indians and others are also in support of Al Jaber’s opinion that coal, oil and natural gas cannot be phased-out.

December 3, 2023 2:19 pm

Seems like a bunch of climate clowns took their private jets to go to the COP28 and crashed against the brick wall of realities in Dubai.

Beta Blocker
Reply to  Petit-Barde
December 3, 2023 2:24 pm

The process of crashing into the Net Zero brick wall will soon become known as Dubaization.

Reply to  Beta Blocker
December 3, 2023 3:08 pm

Or “the Dubai treatment”. 🤣

Eamon Butler
Reply to  Petit-Barde
December 3, 2023 4:05 pm

Our very own climate clown (the leader of the Irish Green party) gets to go not once, but twice, to Dubai.
Back home, the Government face a motion of no confidence in the minister for justice (long story) and the leader of the Green party who is currently in Dubai, has to fly home to vote for his coalition colleague and save the Gov. from loosing the vote. He will then make a return flight to Dubai, to continue telling us we need to reduce our carbon footprints.It has been played down as much as possible by the media, barely getting a mention.
It’s not the principle it’s the money.

Reply to  Eamon Butler
December 3, 2023 7:34 pm

“losing” lol

cuddywhiffer
December 3, 2023 2:23 pm

I’m with Al Jaber on this one.

Reply to  cuddywhiffer
December 3, 2023 3:09 pm

I think most of us are, except for a few of the trolls.

Bryan A
Reply to  Richard Page
December 3, 2023 5:44 pm

But don’t trolls live in caves already? (And under bridges)

Jamaica NYC
December 3, 2023 2:24 pm

Getting rid of 6 or 7 billion people solves a lot of problems, so, his claim of living in caves is misinformation.

Reply to  Jamaica NYC
December 3, 2023 2:55 pm

You won’t have to live in caves. Collecting dead grass, forest deadfall, and dried feces will be sufficient to keep your teepee warm.

Reply to  DMacKenzie
December 3, 2023 3:10 pm

Even the American Indians moved south for the winter.

juanslayton
Reply to  scvblwxq
December 3, 2023 6:55 pm

Interesting…. Got some examples of that?

Reply to  scvblwxq
December 4, 2023 1:06 pm

You have proof of that?
Such movers would enter the hunting/fishing areas of others
There would be fighting

markm
Reply to  scvblwxq
December 4, 2023 1:15 pm

I wouldn’t expect that to be any long time tradition, since their traditions were formed when all migrations were on foot. Eastern tribes like the Iroquois built solid houses and lived in them year round, although their hunters and traders might have to camp out for a few months.

The Great Plains tribes roved over several hundred miles, but even with horses it was not far enough that I could call it going south – such a move would have infringed on other tribes’ territories. Instead, they headed for somewhere in their territory with more shelter from the weather (like from the open plains to a valley that blocked the wind), and usually built sturdy and warm permanent houses there. For example, the Cheyenne would go live with the Arapaho for the winter. This was a related tribe that farmed river bottoms, while the Cheyenne hunted the plains, and each tribe needed the other for a complete diet and for other things. The Cheyenne traded dried buffalo meat and buffalo robes for vegetables, grain, and squash, and crowded into the Arapaho’s permanent sod or wood and mud houses for the winter.

Dave Fair
Reply to  Jamaica NYC
December 3, 2023 3:41 pm

All it requires is a re-migration back to Africa; no heating required.

Mr.
December 3, 2023 2:27 pm

Oooops.

Did the conference m.c. say –
“Come on up here Al”
(referring to Al Gore).

But it was Al Jaba who took the call and said his piece, kept it real.

Reply to  Mr.
December 3, 2023 3:11 pm

I think Al Jaba was off looking for Han Solo at the time so Al Jaber took his place!

Bryan A
Reply to  Richard Page
December 3, 2023 5:46 pm

Should have been Al Bundy

barryjo
Reply to  Mr.
December 3, 2023 4:00 pm

Would liked to have seen AG’s face after that speech.

Reply to  barryjo
December 4, 2023 8:01 am

He probably had the look of a man who realises his cash cow is drying up!

rovingbroker
December 3, 2023 2:28 pm

Now that there is some controversy about the roll fossil fuels play in global warming, attendees can safely and comfortably jump into their fossil fuel burning private jets and … jet home.

Global Warming? Live with it!

observa
December 3, 2023 2:29 pm

I’m getting a sense the FF industry is beginning to call out this net zero peak stupid-
Net zero policy for new gas projects abandoned after industry objected (msn.com)
You want the gas or not dummies?

David Wojick
December 3, 2023 2:29 pm

There was already a sizeable group of countries and delegates arguing against any language calling for a phase out of fossil fuels. Looks like the Pres is among them. Very good news indeed.

Eamon Butler
Reply to  David Wojick
December 3, 2023 4:08 pm

Yes and the subtle use of the term ”phase down” instead of ”out” has them all very upset.

Brian0127
December 3, 2023 2:36 pm

The largest problem with the Net Zero/AGW issue is that those who are in to shape its future are largely technically illiterate, have no experience of large infrastructure projects and confuse ability to repeat the climate catastrophe rhetoric with comprehension and knowledge.
Hence , we have the commitment to triple nuclear power generation by 2050 when Hinkley C looks like taking 20 years to get from approval to start-up, in the last week there was opinion that the UK pensions triple lock, costing £12bn pa, should be scrapped to fund Net Zero, which the BEIS dept advised spending of £70bn pa in 2019, fossil fuels are still being demonised when today supplying over 40%UK electrical power generation, so loss of UK fossil fuels would be terminal for the UK economy and large swathes of the population.
What the world does need to see is a cost benefit analysis for the COPs and other UNFCC conferences.
Until that is published and accepted, the COPs shoudl be halted, the fat cats told to find honest jobs, and the funds diverted into clean energy research.

John the Econ
December 3, 2023 2:42 pm

 “Please help me, show me the roadmap for a phase-out of fossil fuel that will allow for sustainable socioeconomic development, unless you want to take the world back into caves.”

Um, for many, the destruction of free markets and a return to sustainance lifestyles (for the masses, anyway) is the point. There is no road map because further development is not the point.

December 3, 2023 2:46 pm

Their conflict-of-interest claim is hilarious as there are many on the warmist/alarmist side who depend on the funding from government which unsurprisingly they are highly political in the process along with the government run IPCC reports that are designed to generate a barrage of stupid doom in the future scenarios unless we peons hit the knees in obeisance to rotting socialism pogroms and be saved!

Their naked snake oil climate doomsday scam is so easy to see.

HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW

Reply to  Sunsettommy
December 3, 2023 3:14 pm

It is the rich that are pushing the “Climate Change” agenda. They own the media and control the politicians with their campaign contributions.

Reply to  Sunsettommy
December 4, 2023 3:57 am

“Their conflict-of-interest claim is hilarious”

Yes, it is, especially considering that every one of these climate alarmists got to COP28 using fossil fuels, and they will go home using fossil fuels, and will use them when they are at home.

Editor
December 3, 2023 2:48 pm

As reported in The Guardian, Sultan al Jaber pleaded with them to “show me the roadmap for a phase-out of fossil fuel that will allow for sustainable socioeconomic development [] Show me the solutions.“. The replies from Guterres and others were: “The science is clear [] The science is absolutely clear [] It is undeniable that .. we must all rapidly reduce carbon emissions [] The science of climate change has been clear for decades“. In other words, none of them gave an answer.

I hope that Sultan al Jaber’s sanity prevails, and the COP ends with no recommendations at all.

Reply to  Mike Jonas
December 3, 2023 3:17 pm

Observation disputes what the so-called “climate scientists” are saying.

In 2020 when COVID became worldwide, human emissions of CO2 dropped by 6% according to the International Energy Agency, yet the rate of increase of CO2 as seen at the Mauna Loa Observatory didn’t change a bit. https://www.co2.earth/monthly-co2

Reply to  Mike Jonas
December 4, 2023 4:03 am

“In other words, none of them gave an answer.”

Exactly what is to be expected from people who don’t have any answers and can’t prove CO2 is dangerous if their lives depended on doing so.

So they appeal to (dishonest) IPCC/UN authority and want Al Jaber, and other skeptics, to accept that appeal to authority.

No, it doesn’t work that way. Skeptics need evidence. Climate alarmists have provided no evidence, and don’t have any evidence to provide. Claiming their opinions on climate should be accepted as facts is not good enough.

December 3, 2023 2:49 pm

I suspect Sultan Al Jaber know a lot more than 99% of his critics.
How many of them have a BSc in Chemical Engineering
and various post graduate business qualifications?
Notice how his critics do not want to engage in “a sober and mature conversation.”
That is why they have to slander him.

Reply to  Michael in Dublin
December 3, 2023 2:51 pm

Correction: He knows . . . . sorry I cannot find an edit function.

Reply to  Michael in Dublin
December 3, 2023 3:19 pm

The edit function disappeared a while ago.

Reply to  Michael in Dublin
December 3, 2023 3:20 pm

That’s fine, we can’t find it either, and it is annoying!

Reply to  Michael in Dublin
December 4, 2023 4:07 am

Yip – I worked in the ME for several years with a lot of very smart, educated locals.

Reply to  Michael in Dublin
December 4, 2023 4:08 am

“Notice how his critics do not want to engage in “a sober and mature conversation.”

Of course, they don’t. The climate change alarmists don’t have any evidence to offer in such a conversation, all they have is speculation, assumptions and unsubstantiated assertions. That is ALL they have. And they know it.

So, instead, they slander their critics. It’s standard operating procedure for Liars.

December 3, 2023 3:06 pm

In 2020 when COVID became worldwide, human emissions of CO2 dropped by 6% according to the International Energy Agency, yet the rate of increase of CO2 as seen at Mauna Loa Observatory didn’t change a bit. 

https://www.co2.earth/monthly-co2

John Pickens
December 3, 2023 3:19 pm

Finally, the correct questions to ask these anthropogenic CO2 caused global warming alarmists.

I have been posting for years on these comment threads that unless and until anyone can demonstrate a “green”, “renewable” energy delivery system which produces more energy than it consumes, while at the same time greatly reducing CO2 output, then this whole enterprise is a cruel charade.

December 3, 2023 3:22 pm

A more reasoned address than
You stole my childhood how dare you!

universalaccessnz
December 3, 2023 3:36 pm

Dr Mann is choking. Please don’t resuscitate him.

December 3, 2023 4:02 pm

It’ll be interesting to see how the MSM discusses this.

Reply to  Sweet Old Bob
December 4, 2023 4:15 am

The Pope has to signal his virtue.

That’s the first thing I thought, but maybe not. I get the feeling the Pope is a True Believer and thinks CO2 is dangerous.

He needs a little Devine guidance, imo.

Reply to  Tom Abbott
December 4, 2023 1:09 pm

He needs a brain, then he may be able to absorb Devine guidance

Bryan A
Reply to  Joseph Zorzin
December 3, 2023 5:48 pm

They won’t. They’ll just let it die on the vine

John Hultquist
December 3, 2023 4:10 pm

Funny – reminds me of – – – Bob_Newhart show “just stop it”

Reply to  John Hultquist
December 4, 2023 1:10 pm

Or Nancy Reagan, just say no!
Profound wisdom, indeed

John Aqua
December 3, 2023 4:25 pm

I see chinks in the armor appearing hither and there; the EV manufacturers crying uncle, the COP 28 president speaking against the phase out of fossil fuels and Alex Epstein making his appearance on a mainstream news segment. 2024 is looking up.

Reply to  John Aqua
December 3, 2023 4:35 pm

Got a link for the Epstein appearance?

John Aqua
Reply to  Joseph Zorzin
December 3, 2023 9:31 pm
Reply to  John Aqua
December 5, 2023 3:09 am

got it- watching it now

Reply to  Joseph Zorzin
December 5, 2023 3:17 am

excellent- Alex is a hero of mine- super smart- will debate anyone- the other side is afraid of him- and he’s young, only early 40s- he’s becomming a world class leader in oppossing climate lunacy

John Aqua
Reply to  Joseph Zorzin
December 4, 2023 7:22 am

I posted a link but it was not approved by the editor.

Reply to  John Aqua
December 4, 2023 11:21 am

you mean the moderator of this site? That’s weird as I’ve given many links to Epstein’s talks- I’ll look for it.

Reply to  John Aqua
December 4, 2023 1:11 pm

And Trump wins in a landslide

December 3, 2023 4:32 pm

Nothing sums up the ridiculous nature of these COP events more succinctly than staging one in an oil-producing country that has no intention of curbing oil production and every intention of flogging more oil to the nations contributing to the COP. It’s risible.

No major nation has any intention of reducing CO2 in the near-term. It would be electoral suicide in democratic countries, because voters have short-term outlooks. So man-made global warming will continue.

‘The line it is drawn, the curse it is cast’ (as Bob Dylan might put it).

Reply to  TheFinalNail
December 3, 2023 5:23 pm

So when they keep inanely bleating on about how fossil fuels are bad whilst personally using more than most small countries you’re fine with that, but when somebody injects a note of sanity into the proceedings you’re against the “ridiculous nature of these COP events”. So, please, tell me which insane asylum you escaped from and how long ago that was?

Reply to  TheFinalNail
December 3, 2023 6:22 pm

Have you ceased all consumption of petroleum yet?

Reply to  karlomonte
December 4, 2023 4:19 am

Good question.

If not, why not? Would be the next question.

Reply to  Tom Abbott
December 4, 2023 5:15 am

Hypocrisy would be my first guess.

Reply to  Tom Abbott
December 4, 2023 11:29 am

It’s like when I think of people I know who are religious fanatics. If I were such a fanatic, I’d do like St. Francis, give away everything I have and spend every moment comforting the sick and dying. But, few people do that. But if you really believed all that- you would. I tell them that- that don’t appreciate it. If I were 100% certain we’re having a climate emergency- I’d only walk everywhere, live in a “tiny house” with solar on the roof and become a vegan. A few people do that but none of the 70,000 elites at the COP orgy.

Captain Climate
Reply to  TheFinalNail
December 3, 2023 6:23 pm

Sounds like you should give up

Reply to  Captain Climate
December 4, 2023 9:06 am

I detect a certain desperation in TFN’s post. His ship is sinking, and he knows it.

aussiecol
Reply to  TheFinalNail
December 3, 2023 6:51 pm

”Al Jaber himself, also the head of the UAE’s renewable energy company Masdar, has advocated for clean energy investments and tackling operational emissions.”

I guess you missed this bit in the story then… you really need to do just a little research, like read the article, before placing your foot in your mouth.

Reply to  aussiecol
December 4, 2023 4:20 am

The next question to ask is: Does Al Jaber think windmills and solar are viable solutions to future energy supplies, or is he just in it for the money?

Reply to  Tom Abbott
December 4, 2023 11:31 am

Right- if there is going to be trillions spent on “clean” energy – any smart oil baron will be investing in it! It’s the next gold mine.

Reply to  TheFinalNail
December 4, 2023 1:43 am

You are partly correct for once..

COP meeting are totally ridiculous….. period !!!

You do realise that are based totally on the LIES AND MISINFORMATION that people like you support. !

Do you have ANY evidence for “man-made-global-warming”

You have failed utterly and completely to present any so far. !!

Reply to  bnice2000
December 4, 2023 4:24 am

And nobody at COP28 can produce any evidence of man-made global warming/climate change, either.

Al Jaber is asking the right questions. The climate change alarmists don’t have the answers. I love it!

Reply to  TheFinalNail
December 4, 2023 4:17 am

“So man-made global warming will continue.”

Of course, that’s pure speculation.

Reply to  Tom Abbott
December 4, 2023 8:58 am

Since every single prediction made by Alarmists like ToeFungalNail has failed, I don’t think we need entertain this one seriously.

Someone
Reply to  TheFinalNail
December 4, 2023 9:25 am

“So man-made global warming will continue.”

To continue, it would need to exist in the first place. However, there is no data (computer models are not data) that it exists.

Reply to  TheFinalNail
December 4, 2023 11:25 am

Proves just how stupid the climate cult is that they’d agree to the invitation in that country! It might be suicide in democratic countries because the people in those countries HAVE SOVEREIGNTY and don’t need advice and pushy behavior from the UN and climate emergency cultists. Some more warming may continue and many of us look forward to it. Whatever it is- it’s not an emergency or a disaster or a crisis- only in the deranged minds of climate cultists like Saint Greta- now Dr. Greta.

December 3, 2023 4:49 pm

Green NGOs garner big-dollar donations by their alarmist lies about CO₂-driven climate warming.

This dual capacity has led [me] to accusations that green NGOs cannot impartially [evaluate fossil fuel use during] COP28 when their income stream relies on defaming fossil fuel use.

Bob
December 3, 2023 4:51 pm

If the CAGW crowd had any hard facts at all they could bury Al Jaber. They have nothing and they know they have nothing. They better stampede to nuclear that is their only hope. They will have to slither away from wind, solar and EVs as quietly as possible. But we will be here to remind them of their folly.

Reply to  Bob
December 4, 2023 2:08 am

 and they know they have nothing. “

You only have look at the feeble non-attempts of the local AGW zealots.

No science what so ever.

Reply to  bnice2000
December 4, 2023 4:26 am

Good point. The locals don’t have any evidence, either.

Reply to  Bob
December 4, 2023 4:09 am

Well – move from renewables to nuclear is one aspect different from the push to electrify the transport fleet. Arguably EVs become an easier proposition if we had totally reliable generation (ie nuclear)

insufficientlysensitive
December 3, 2023 4:51 pm

Critics point to Al Jaber’s dual role as the chief executive of the United Arab Emirates’ state oil company, Adnoc, as a serious conflict of interest. 

Depends on whose interest, doesn’t it? What if your interest is in economic transactions that provide all energy uses to all people at affordable prices? It would appear that the catastrophists who decree the shutting down of the economical energy-generators BEFORE they’ve made even the first demonstration of large-scale competitively-priced, year-round, all-purpose non-fossil energy to large populations are more interested in self-aggrandizement than in serving humans with reliable, affordable energy. We KNOW their private planes will keep flying and they’ll not adopt insect diets.

Come on, critics, give us a demonstration of your lifestyles under net-zero energy. And less quibble about ‘conflicts of interest’.

Dave Burton
December 3, 2023 5:00 pm

What an unexpected source to hear truth from. I didn’t expect anyone at COP28 to say anything truthful about anything at all. Sometimes it’s good to be wrong.
Now, if he would just go all the way and admit that:

1. There are no significant adverse effects from anthropogenic GHG emissions.

Of course there are storms, droughts & floods, but those have always happened. None of those problems, and none of the myriad other problems which climate industry propagandists dishonestly blame on manmade climate change, are actually worsening.

2. The highest quality long measurement records show that coastal sea-level trends are not significantly different from 90+ years ago.
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3. Hurricanes and tropical cyclones have been decreasing slightly.
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4. Droughts have also decreased, though only slightly. However, they’ve become much less destructive, as rising CO2 levels make plants more water-efficient and drought-hardy.
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5. Major tornadoes have decreased dramatically in frequency.
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6. Global warming is saving hundreds of thousands of human lives. That should not surprise you when you consider that humans are a tropical species, and most of the Earth is much too cold for us.
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7. But savings in human lives due to warming is dwarfed by the impact of drastically improved food security due higher CO2 levels. That benefit is saving millions of lives.
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That’s due to two things:

7.1. It’s because elevated CO2 makes crops much more productive. That’s why commercial greenhouse operators commonly employ CO2 generators to raise the CO2 level in greenhouses by about 1000 ppmv above average outdoor levels. (For comparison, mankind has only managed to raise outdoor CO2 levels by about 140 ppmv since the industrial revolution.)
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7.2. Additionally, elevated CO2 makes plants much less vulnerable to drought. That’s not only tremendously valuable for human agriculture, it is also helping to green the Earth. NASA measures it from space; this is their video about it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOwHT8yS1XI

8. The best scientific evidence indicates that manmade climate change is modest and benign, CO2 emissions are net-beneficial rather than harmful, and the social cost of carbon is negative.
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Editor
Reply to  Dave Burton
December 3, 2023 5:49 pm

Dave Burton, sorry for the delay in retrieving your comment from the awaiting-moderation file. That’s a boat-load of hyperlinks. Little wonder the comment-moderation software held it.

If you’d broken it down into multiple comments with only a few links each, I suspect they wouldn’t have been stuck there.

Regards,
Bob

Reply to  Dave Burton
December 3, 2023 7:46 pm

Thanks for all that. Great Info.

Reply to  sturmudgeon
December 4, 2023 4:30 am

Yes, much appreciated.

Rod Evans
Reply to  Dave Burton
December 3, 2023 11:18 pm

Many thanks for the clear uncluttered slides, Dave. If only Al Jabba had been presented with such clear data by the alarmists. Had they done that, then they could have taken an early finish to the conference and celebrated, what heroes they all are, as they flew home on their private jets.

Reply to  Rod Evans
December 4, 2023 8:05 am

Were you referring to Al Jabba the Hutt?

December 3, 2023 5:25 pm

“…phase-out of fossil fuel that will allow for sustainable socioeconomic development, unless you want to take the world back into caves.”

That IS the whole point. This was never about the climate or protecting the environment. These people (the Left) want to undermine capitalism so as to ultimately undermine Western Civilization. Capitalism is powered by energy, and its lifeblood has primarily been fossil fuels. They needed to find a way to undermine it, and found their most compelling method by using the climate change argument. It’s like everything else with them; they pretend to care about one cause or another until it gets in the way and is no longer useful (notice how they no longer care about antisemitism or women’s rights now that Hamas is carrying out the direct objective, i.e. destruction).

Reply to  johnesm
December 4, 2023 9:00 am

So-called environmentalists don’t seem to care about the millions of birds and bats minced every year by wind turbines.

John Wilson
December 3, 2023 5:27 pm

Drop JF Kerry into the fifteen minute city in Scotland and tell him to get home decarboned!

Mike Flynn
December 3, 2023 5:43 pm

Lots of people complain about private jets, and their fuel usage. A minor change will solve the problem.

Just coat the wings with solar panels, and connect the engine turbines to electric generators to generate electrical power when running.

Fill the fuel tanks with water, then use the solar panels to produce oxygen and hydrogen from the water, and feed it to the jet. The jet will fire up, and will produce scads of electricity to make even more hydrogen and oxygen from the water, producing ever more power and speed.

Of course, the jet exhaust now consist of pure water vapour, which can be easily removed from the exhaust, condensed back into water (at high altitudes the air is very cold), and pumped back into the fuel tanks.

Very good for surveillance drones which should be able to fly around for months at no cost, using water as fuel.

i reckon that with a bit of polishing here and there, and including a lot of fancy scientific words like forcings, ECF, TSI, W/m2, and stuff like that, the US Dept of Energy or something could give me a billion or so to develop the idea, which is admittedly only a concept at the moment.

i’m sure the idea has merit, and even in a cave, you could just park the aircraft outside, and sit inside if you need air conditioning, or want to go to the toilet. I haven’t figured out how to make the process noiseless, but that’s only a minor detail.

Does anybody think COP 28 might be a good place to suggest my renewable power initiative?

markm
Reply to  Mike Flynn
December 4, 2023 2:37 pm

I hope you are joking, but if not, I’ll do some calculations for a solar powered airplane: Boeing 787-8 specifications from Wikipedia: Wing area 377 m2. Length 57 m. Assume the fuselage top can be covered with solar panels an average of 4 m wide. The total solar panel area is 605 m2. Maximum solar irradiance is 1600 W/m2 (assuming a tropical location, clear sky with zero absorption of sunlight, and the sun at a 90 degree angle to the panel); with a 30% efficiency, you get a maximum power density of 480 w/m2. That’s 290 KW or 387 horsepower from all the cells under the most optimistic conditions.

Now, I have a problem: jet engines are rated by thrust, not horsepower or KW. I think you can convert by multiplying the thrust by the speed, but I don’t have the expertise to know if I’m doing this right. However, I have a couple of ways to view 387 horsepower against the power demands of a large airplane. One of the last and best piston engined airliners, the Super-Constellation, needed 13,000 horsepower total to carry 100 passengers at 300 mph. The 787-8 carries about 300 passengers at 500 mph. It needs many, many times 387 horsepower.

Two, a 2020 Corvette base engine is 465 hp. If you covered a 300-passenger jet airliner with solar cells, at noon on the equator (with one heck of a power cord!) you’d get most of the power needed to run a muscle car seating 4 at a quarter the speed. It might be enough power to run the tractor that tows the airliner on the ground at around 10 mph. You certainly don’t get anywhere near enough power to keep the jet in the air.

You can’t even charge batteries or electrolyze hydrogen and store it to fly. The difference is so great the airplane would have to sit idle on the pavement charging from the sun for days to accumulate enough energy for a 1 hour flight. And airlines don’t let their airplanes sit on the ground in the daytime. They quickly go broke if they can’t keep their airliners flying most of the day, with a full load of ticket-paying passengers.

dk_
December 3, 2023 5:56 pm

“Thanks, King.”

-James “Bright Path” Thorp
Native American Olympian, Baseball and Football player.
to Gustav V of Sweden

Hey, Michael Mann, sue that guy.

Reply to  dk_
December 4, 2023 4:01 am

What?

John Oliver
December 3, 2023 6:11 pm

In reality, they will never get very far with their net zero plans. People expect near 100% reliability in the electric grid, transportation system food supply etc. There is a point where it will become exceedingly clear that none of this decarbonization plan will work.

Unfortunately it does not take much of this “ malinvestment “ as I like to call it before we burn through all the discretionary income of the population( a portion of which must be invested in “ productive pusuits”to assure our future) and economic growth stops.

honestyrus
December 3, 2023 6:24 pm

Things are going rather well at COP28.

We have the President of the conference questioning the basic underpinnings of the whole show.

We have growing support for nuclear and an unspoken tacit admission that “renewables” aren’t going to cut it.

We have delegate’s jets stranded due to snow and ice.

We have South Africa and Indonesia backtracking on previous commitments.

Hoping for more good news before this shindig is over.

Reply to  honestyrus
December 4, 2023 4:37 am

“We have delegate’s jets stranded due to snow and ice.”

I saw a climate change demonstration on tv this morning taking place in Brussels, and I thought it was a little ironic because the crowd was marching through the street holding up a sign that showed a drawing of the Earth with fire burning from the top of the globe, and meanwhile, it was snowing huge snowflakes all over the crowd as they marched.

The are saying the Earth is burning up while marching in a snow storm.

Al Gore must have been involved somehow.

Reply to  Tom Abbott
December 4, 2023 9:03 am

An understanding of irony requires a certain self-awareness and mental acuity, attributes usually lacking in Leftists.

observa
Reply to  observa
December 4, 2023 2:20 am

PS: Not exactly the outcome Minister Bowen was hoping for-
‘Anti-nuclear hysteric’: Chris Bowen lashed for not signing nuclear pledge (msn.com)

Reply to  observa
December 4, 2023 8:09 am

Gaia is not the benevolent earth-mother, she is an ironic bitch. Sooner those green idjits learn that the better.

KevinM
December 3, 2023 8:54 pm

Word torture. If it’s wrong for one team to arrange words in misleading ways to support a proposition then it’s all wrong for the other team too – sez me.

Keith Ball
December 3, 2023 9:58 pm

Fantastic! Maybe now the open debate can begin, and we can educate as to the correct uncensored science. Then we can eliminate the hysteria.
 
But wait, what about the reparations for a decade of lies and insanity?

Reply to  Keith Ball
December 4, 2023 4:44 am

Unfortunately, the original culprits in the human-caused climate change scam, the temperature data mannipulators, don’t have much money. Certainly not enough to compensate all those they have injured with their climate change lies about the temperature record and supposed CO2 correlation.

Reply to  Keith Ball
December 4, 2023 8:10 am

Er, 5 decades and counting…

Rod Evans
December 3, 2023 11:41 pm

Maybe there is hope for humanity after all?
Perhaps it just takes a ‘few good men’ to demand the truth from the perennial doom mongers, to finally get the world to wake up from the nightmare of ongoing energy starvation policy Alarmists demand.
This COP may go down as the turning point in climate change science. We have already seen the demand for nuclear power generation to be put back on the agenda. Now we have a conference leader asking for data, to support the hysterical rhetoric adopted by the Climate Alarmists. They failed to provide any, Why? Because as all relists know, there is none.
Fingers crossed, the billions these gatherings cost might just turn out the right result….eventually.

December 4, 2023 12:47 am

Al Jaber was born in Umm Al Quwain, UAE. He holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Southern California, a PhD in business and economics from Coventry University, and an MBA from the California State University at Los Angeles.

Reply to  ugaap
December 4, 2023 4:04 am

And so might be the only educated person at the COPfest.
What was his MBA in, out of interest?

Iain Reid
December 4, 2023 1:12 am

Where is the plan from the learned gentlemen who say fossil fuels are not necessary for development?

What do they suggest can replace fossil fuels, at what cost and in what time frame?
What evidence do they have that makes this momentous, probably insurmountable with present technology, task necessary?

Words are cheap when someone else has to shoulder the work and finacial burden!

Reply to  Iain Reid
December 4, 2023 4:54 am

All good questions, that climate change alarmist never address.

December 4, 2023 2:28 am

Despite the controversy, COP28 aims to set ambitious decarbonization targets for the oil and gas industry and triple renewable energy. 

LOL!!! – Still in LaLa Land…

Sean Galbally
December 4, 2023 4:39 am

Amazing. Somebody at COP 28 with some sense.

Ed Zuiderwijk
December 4, 2023 4:47 am

They made a massive and to me fortunate mistake in choosing Dubai for a COP. Here is a man with the intellectual honesty to call a spade a spade and the political and economic clout to just be able to do so. Mickey Mann, John Kerry, Al Gore, they will be livid to the point of heads exploding, but they can huff and puff as loud as they want, it will have no effect.

With a bit of luck this is the last COP. Good riddance.

December 4, 2023 7:52 am

How did we get to a stage in modern society where the most alarming and unwelcome words that can ever be spoken are the truth.

Jason
December 4, 2023 11:27 am

Do any scientists truly believe in the science behind these IPCC scenarios? I’m guessing they are not fools. Why aren’t there any “whistle-blowers”? Aren’t there any other dissenting scientists?

There is no point in making arguments and mocking folks in this echo-chamber unless that’s all you want to do. And you’ve been doing it for a very long time.

Science requires debate. You guys need to find a way to publish.

Eamon Butler
December 4, 2023 4:45 pm

Sounded like he was trying to backpedal a bit, today. Saying his comments were taken out of context.