January 9, 2024
The Chief Minister of Jersey, Deputy Kristina Moore, Minister for the Environment, Deputy Jonathan Renouf and policy officials recently attended COP28 in Dubai, as part of the UK delegation. This is the third year running in which Jersey has been represented at the landmark climate change conference, which brings together thousands of delegates from across the world to assess progress towards limiting global temperature rises through the commitments made by individual states to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
Jersey, like many other small-island and sub-sovereign jurisdictions, attends COPs to underscore its commitment to the Paris Agreement (extended to the Island in 2021), to be part of the global conversation on curbing emissions and mitigating the effects of climate change, and to share experience and expertise in various areas of climate policy. Particularly significant in this respect is the Government’s commitment to develop the Island’s offshore wind potential, an ambitious and complex project which will benefit greatly from international cooperation both in the development phase and in the eventual operation of a windfarm.
The centrepiece of Jersey’s schedule at COP28 was an event, organised by the UK Government at the UK Pavilion, entitled On the frontline: how are the UK’s Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies getting to net zero, adapting to and dealing with the impacts of climate change? Chaired by the UK Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Rt Hon Graham Stuart MP, and with Deputy Renouf as one of four panellists, the event was an excellent opportunity for Jersey to present its progress and ambitions under the Paris Agreement to wider audience. This was particularly relevant with our neighbours in Guernsey having the Agreement extended to them during the conference. Deputy Renouf and his Guernsey counterpart later held an extensive meeting with Minister Stuart to discuss progress under the Paris Agreement in greater detail.
Among numerous other engagements were meetings with Bertrand Piccard, clean technology pioneer and patron of Jerseyman Phil Sharp’s OceansLab Hydrogen Boat project, the Minister for the Environment, Health and Wellbeing of Antigua and Barbuda, Sir Molwyn Joseph, and other UK parliamentarians. There were meetings with industry leads in the renewables and offshore wind sector, as well as in the finance and banking sector.
Jersey Ministers attended various side events, including several organised by the UAE-UK Business Council, and Deputy Renouf spoke at a ‘fireside’ chat held by ‘Island Innovation’, an organisation with promotes and facilitates the sharing of climate expertise among small-island states. You can watch the conversation here.
Beyond COP28 engagements, Deputy Moore and Deputy Renouf made use of their time in Dubai to strengthen Jersey’s existing deep bilateral relationship with the United Arab Emirates and other states in the gulf region.
