Prince Albert II at COP 28: "We need to be much more ambitious"

The Sovereign headed to Dubai to take part in the global summit on climate action, along with other leaders from all around the world.

The 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, known as COP 28, began on Thursday 30 November and will run until 12 December.

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Prince Albert II was welcomed by Mohammed ben Zayed Al Nahyane, President of the United Arab Emirates, and Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations. He then posed for the customary photo with heads of state and government from around the world. © Prince’s palace / COP 28

On Friday 1st December, Prince Albert II reiterated “the Principality of Monaco’s full support for the UAE Presidency in order for this Conference to be a success, resulting in tangible and credible commitments that will put us on the path to a low-carbon development model that is resilient to climate change,” stressing the need for increased and rapid action to keep global warming under 1.5°C, a figure established eight years previously at COP 21 in Paris where a global agreement was reached for a maximum increase of 1.5°C to 2°C by 2100.

On Saturday, Prince Albert II took part in a session concerning the first Global Stocktake of the Paris Agreement (photo 3). Beforehand, he was at the Ocean Pavilion, where a bilateral meeting was scheduled with Professor Jim Skea, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). © Prince’s Palace

The first Global Stocktake of the Paris Agreement was also on the programme for Saturday 2 December. The Sovereign spoke about the role of the ocean and the need to replace fossil fuels with low-carbon energies. “We are way behind schedule. We need to be much more ambitious, much more decisive and much fairer in everything that all the countries, especially the big countries, have to do. It is imperative that they step up their efforts to achieve the targets they set themselves in the Paris Agreement,” Prince Albert II told Monaco Info in an interview at the end of the day.

*The Prince was interviewed by journalist Émilie Rousseau.* © Prince’s Palace

“In Monaco, we are on track to get there. [..] Time is against us, it takes a long time to put in place, but we absolutely must step up our efforts . I hope that this COP will head in the right direction and that it will be decisive for our future,” said the Sovereign.