Scandal in Dubai, the president of Cop28:«Will giving up oil save the planet?No, it would take us back to the caves"

The CEO of the United Arab Emirates oil company lets off steam in an online meeting:«No scientific evidence of the need to give up fossil fuels»

Game with expectations already quite low on the possible results, the Cop28 underway since Thursday in Dubai was shaken today by the statements of its president Sultan Al Jaber.That in an online meeting on the sidelines of the conference he would give vent to his real beliefs on the topic of climate change.At the limit of denialism.“There is no scientific basis to suggest that it is necessary to give up fossil fuels to keep global warming within 1.5 degrees,” the Sultan said at an online event organized by the “She Changes Climate” campaign.This was revealed today Guardian, causing shock among COP participants and the leaders of international institutions involved in the fight against climate change.Angered by the "pressing" of the campaign leader and former UN special envoy Mary Robinson, Al Jaber, who heads the Emirati oil company Adnoc, seems to have literally thrown away the fragile mask imposed by the COP.Giving up fossil fuels would not guarantee any sustainable development, the Sultan insisted, "unless we want to put the world back in the caves."For scientists who study and document the evidence of the impact of emissions on the climate, these statements are "extremely worrying" and "bordering on climate denialism".After which it seems impossible not to wonder how from tomorrow Al Jaber will be able to return to leading the negotiations on new ambitious climate goals to be achieved for the planet.