COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber now says the world is losing in the race to meet the set climate change goals.
He said this as he noted that in three days, the United Nations will publish the first issue of the global stocktake - an assessment of how nations are doing in their efforts to tackle climate change.
"We are gathering here in Nairobi three days just before the UN releases the findings of the first global stocktake. And let's just face it, we already know that the world is way off-track and we know that this report will actually conclude," he said.
Al Jaber, who is the head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company spoke on Tuesday during the Heads of State session of the Africa Climate Summit at the Kenyatta International Conventional Centre (KICC).
"The world is losing the race to secure the goals of the Paris Agreement and the world is struggling to keep 1.5 °C within reach," he added.
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change whose goal is to hold "the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels" and pursue efforts " to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels".
It was adopted by 196 Parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, France, on December 12, 2015, and entered into force on November 4, 2016.
Al Jaber said it was time to admit that the nations were not delivering the needed results within the stipulated time.
He called for the leaders to invest in "smart pragmatic disruption" and let go of the "business as usual" mindset so as to allow for a paradigm shift.
"We need an integrated approach that delivers transformation progress and we need a plan that leaves no one behind," he said.
This plan, he added, needs to be one of action that fast-tracks a just, responsible and well-managed energy transformation.
It should also focus on the people, lives and livelihoods.
The Summit entered its second day with the discussions revolving around the need for change in the international climate finance system.
Al Jaber said the aforementioned plan should also fix climate finance.
The session was attended by heads of state from across the continent, dignitaries and special envoys.
The COP28 will be held on November 30 and run until December 12, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
