COP28 was exceptional challenge amid global divisions, Al Jaber says

United Arab Emirates Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and COP28 President Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber attends a plenary session, after a draft of a negotiation deal was released, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 13, 2023. REUTERS FILE PHOTO

DUBAI — Hosting the COP28 UN climate summit was an “exceptional challenge” amid global divisions, its president, the UAE’s Sultan Al Jaber, said in an interview with state news agency WAM.

“Despite the skepticism about the ability of an oil-producing country to host the climate conference, our response was to focus on work and progress to achieve the desired results and create radical, positive change,” WAM quoted Al Jaber as saying.