The head of the United Arab Emirates oil company was named chairman of the annual UN climate conference scheduled for the end of the year in the Gulf country on Thursday, drawing criticism from environmental advocates.
The Emirates Minister of Industry, Chairman of the oil giant ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company) and special envoy for climate change, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaberis the “appointed president for the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28),” a statement from the official WAM news agency reported on Thursday.
It will be the first time that the president of a company directs the work of the COP, which this year it will be held in Dubaibetween November and December.
“We will bring a pragmatic, realistic and solution-oriented approach,” Sultan Ahmed al Jaber declared upon his appointment.
“Climate action represents a huge economic opportunity to invest in sustainable growth. Financing is the key”, added the manager.
Sultan Ahmed al Jaber has led the Emirates’ national oil company since 2016, as well as Masdar, the country’s renewable energy company.
His dual role has earned him criticism from environmentalists.
“The appointment of Sultan Ahmed al Jaber to the COP28 presidency, as president of Abu Dhabi’s national oil company, is an outrageous conflict of interest,” said Harjeet Singh of Climate Action Network International.
“The constant threat of fossil fuel lobbyists at UN climate negotiations has always undermined the outcomes of climate conferences. This situation now reaches an unprecedented and dangerous level,” he added.
The power of lobbying
Oil and gas lobbyists were numerous at COP27 organized last November in Egypt, and in fact they were 25% more than at the previous meeting in Glasgow, according to environmental associations.
The largest contingent of lobbyists were precisely the Emiratis, followed by the Russians.
The COP27 in Egypt allowed the adoption of a resolution that provides for the creation of a fund to cover the damages and losses suffered by the countries most vulnerable to climate change, and historically least responsible for it.
Said summit, however, did not set more ambitious objectives in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Likewise, no objective was set for the output of fossil fuels.
The United Arab Emirates, one of the world’s largest oil exporters, advocates a phased out of hydrocarbons and has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
The country has experienced rapid economic growth since the 1970s, thanks to oil, but its economy has gradually diversified.
“Limit heating to 1.5ºC [tal como fija el Acuerdo de París de 2015] it will require significant reductions in emissions, a pragmatic, practical and realistic approach to the energy transition and greater aid to emerging economies, ”says the statement published this Thursday.
Climate change is a sensitive issue in the Gulf countries, where temperatures often touch 50 degrees in summer.