UAE names oil company chief to lead UN’s COP 28 climate talks
Al JazeeraJan 12, 2023
The United Arab Emirates has named Sultan al-Jaber, who both leads Abu Dhabi’s state-run oil company and oversees its renewable energy efforts, to preside over the upcoming United Nations "COP28" climate negotiations in Dubai.
Al-Jaber, who serves as CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co — a firm that produces 4M barrels of crude a day and plans to expand to 5M — is known to be a trusted advisor to UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Sultan al-Jaber has the credentials and background to be attuned to trends that are already ongoing and understand climate negotiations from a well-informed standpoint. The UAE is committed to energy reform and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 — Sultan al-Jaber will play an integral role in these goals.
Putting an oil CEO in charge of the negotiations for COP28 is clearly a conflict of interest. This is proof of the fossil fuel interests taking control of the process and shaping it to meet their own needs. There is no place for pollution enablers like al-Jaber in climate negotiations.