FILE - European Commissioner for European Green Deal Frans Timmermans speaks during a media conference on threats of climate change and environmental degradation on peace, security, and defense at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, June 28, 2023. The head of this year鈥檚 United Nations鈥 climate talks called Thursday, July 13, 2023, for governments and businesses to tackle global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in all regions and sectors if they want to stop the planet from passing a key temperature limit agreed more than seven years ago. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)
FILE - Designated UN conference president Sultan al-Jaber attends the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, Thursday, June 8, 2023. The head of this year鈥檚 United Nations鈥 climate talks called Thursday, July 13, 2023, for governments and businesses to tackle global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in all regions and sectors if they want to stop the planet from passing a key temperature limit agreed more than seven years ago. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
FILE - A man rows a boat down a residential street after flooding in Angleur, Province of Liege, Belgium, July 16, 2021. The head of this year鈥檚 United Nations鈥 climate talks called Thursday, July 13, 2023, for governments and businesses to tackle global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in all regions and sectors if they want to stop the planet from passing a key temperature limit agreed more than seven years ago. (AP Photo/Valentin Bianchi, File)
FILE - European Commissioner for European Green Deal Frans Timmermans speaks during a media conference on threats of climate change and environmental degradation on peace, security, and defense at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, June 28, 2023. The head of this year鈥檚 United Nations鈥 climate talks called Thursday, July 13, 2023, for governments and businesses to tackle global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in all regions and sectors if they want to stop the planet from passing a key temperature limit agreed more than seven years ago. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)
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FILE - Designated UN conference president Sultan al-Jaber attends the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, Thursday, June 8, 2023. The head of this year鈥檚 United Nations鈥 climate talks called Thursday, July 13, 2023, for governments and businesses to tackle global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in all regions and sectors if they want to stop the planet from passing a key temperature limit agreed more than seven years ago. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
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FILE - A man rows a boat down a residential street after flooding in Angleur, Province of Liege, Belgium, July 16, 2021. The head of this year鈥檚 United Nations鈥 climate talks called Thursday, July 13, 2023, for governments and businesses to tackle global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in all regions and sectors if they want to stop the planet from passing a key temperature limit agreed more than seven years ago. (AP Photo/Valentin Bianchi, File)
BERLIN (AP) 鈥 The head of this year鈥檚 United Nations climate talks called Thursday for governments and businesses to tackle global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in all regions and sectors if they want to stop the planet from passing a key temperature limit agreed on more than seven years ago.
Sultan al-Jaber of the United Arab Emirates, who also heads one of the country's , told senior officials from Europe, Canada and China gathered in Brussels that seen across the world recently shows the need for urgent action to curb emissions.
Laying out his strategy for the upcoming COP28 global climate talks in Dubai this fall, al-Jaber said that leaders 鈥渕ust be brutally honest" about what has caused the sharp rise in temperatures since pre-industrial times and how to stop them from climbing further.
While many fossil fuel companies have pledged to reduce direct and indirect emissions from their operations 鈥 known as scope 1 and 2 鈥 many have resulting from sources they don't own or control, such as consumers using their gas. The latter make up the majority of emissions, and cutting those effectively means reducing demand for fossil fuels.
"We need to attack all emissions, everywhere: (scope) one, two and three,鈥 al-Jaber said, adding that he plans to bring together governments, major energy producers and heavy emitting industries to develop a practical plan for (2.7 Fahrenheit) in line with the 2015 Paris climate accord.
Scientists say achieving this target requires halving global emissions by 2030 and .
Al-Jaber urged governments to come forward with more ambitious national targets for cutting emissions in the next few months. He also named two veteran officials from South Africa and Denmark to lead negotiations on the first global stocktake of where the world stands in meeting the Paris goals.
Climate campaigners cautiously welcomed the plan.
鈥淭his is a much-needed kick up the backside from Sultan al-Jaber, to get counties to upgrade their climate targets by September," said Illari Noriega of the anti-poverty group Christian Aid.
鈥淭he climate is showing that we need to be acting far far quicker than the current slow progress,鈥 she said. 鈥淧eople are dying due to , more than 100 million people are now under a and a road worker in Italy became the latest fatality of a .鈥
But some expressed concern at al-Jaber's call to phase down 鈥渦nabated fossil fuels鈥 and promote 鈥渃lean energy solutions鈥 鈥 terms they fear are designed to leave loopholes for oil and gas companies to keep up production.
Al-Jaber said the world must 鈥渦se every emission-busting tool available, including nuclear, battery storage and carbon capture and removal technologies, especially for the hardest-to-abate sectors.鈥 that carbon capture technology touted by the fossil fuel industry and some governments can deliver the swift reductions necessary to meet the Paris goal.
鈥淲hat we need to see at COP28 is a commitment by governments to phasing out all fossil fuels, since that is the only way to keep the 1.5 degree target alive,鈥 said Petter Lyd茅n of the campaign group Germanwatch.
Al-Jaber reiterated calls for a and money to help developing countries make the transition away from polluting fuels and cope with the impacts of climate change.
The European Union's top climate official, Frans Timmermans, warned that more public and private funds are still being spent on fossil fuels than on preventing and adapting to climate change.
鈥淲e are subsidizing an attack on all of humanity,鈥 he said. "We鈥檙e investing in a worse future, not a better one. We鈥檙e paying to put our children and grandchildren in harm鈥檚 way.鈥
Timmermans warned that with global warming picking up faster than feared, disrupting weather patterns across the planet and hitting the vulnerable hardest, governments need to show they have a credible plan to tackle the crisis.
鈥淭he one thing we need to avoid, and we鈥檙e very close, we鈥檙e very close, is that our citizens fall into despair about the climate crisis,鈥 he said.
Timmermans announced Thursday that the EU will commemorate the victims of the climate crisis each year on July 15, the anniversary of that claimed more than 200 lives in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands two years ago.