Sultan Al Jaber, head of Abu Dhabi’s national oil company, is expected to be appointed chairman of the climate talks.
The UAE will announce its chairmanship of the weather talks on Thursday, with the head of its national oil corporation set to play the lead role.
Sultan Al Jaber has been the country’s meteorological envoy and is the head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), the world’s 12th largest oil company in terms of production, and is strongly inclined towards the central role of chair of the talks. .
He is the UAE’s Minister of Industry and High Technologies and director of Masdar, which focuses on renewable energy.
The UN climate summit Cop28, which will be held from November 30 in Dubai, will be a conference to determine if the world can get on track to tackle the climate crisis. This year, nations will conduct a “global inventory” to assess the current state of climate action and progress toward the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
While some countries have submitted national plans for greenhouse fuel emissions in line with the Paris Agreement’s ambition to restrict global warming to 1. 5°C above pre-industrial levels, many of the world’s biggest emitters have failed to do so, jeopardizing climate goals.
One of the functions of the presidency will be to hold such recalcitrant governments accountable, but many observers worry that the UAE, as a top oil producer with close ties to manufacturers such as Saudi Arabia, will be reluctant to confront them.
At COP27, held in Egypt last November, there were dozens of UAE oil and fuel lobbyists and Gulf states with interests in oil and fuels were reportedly among the blockers preventing er language on phasing out fossil fuels.
A veteran of the talks, whose name may not be mentioned, said: “[Al Jaber] is straddling two worlds. One of the climate negotiations in which we want to take a giant step forward in reducing emissions and financing the phasing out of fossil fuel emissions; secondly, as head of Adnoc. The UAE should be recognised as a leader in food, technology, adaptation and potentially innovative financing, but how can this be being fossil fuel polluters? »
Some civil society activists have called on Al Jaber to step down from his fossil fuel roles to take up the COP28 presidency.
Tasneem Essop, executive director of Climate Action Network International, said: “[If Al Jaber is appointed president of COP28, it will be] imperative that the world is sure that he will step down as executive director of Adnoc. He will preside over a procedure charged with dealing with the meteorological crisis with such a clash of interests, at the head of an industry that is to blame for the crisis itself.
He warned: “If he does not step down as executive director, it will be a large-scale capture of the UN climate talks through an oil state’s national oil company and its fossil fuel-related lobbyists. COP26 in Glasgow brought in a combined 500 fossil fuel lobbyists, the COP in Egypt saw its presence grow by 25%, COP28 now turns out to be the open season for interest teams who will use the climate talks to continue undermining any progress on climate action. As civil society, [we’re going to] ask Al Jaber to do the right thing and resign or resign.
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Described as captivating and intelligent by those involved in the climate negotiations, Al Jaber, 49, had knowledge in the United States and the United Kingdom. While he helped discover Masdar in 2006, making a huge investment in solar energy, his role as leader of the executive organization of the national petroleum corporation means he is also tasked with generating as much money as possible for the UAE from its oil production.
In an interview with the National newspaper in the Gulf last September, ahead of COP27, Al Jaber advocated a transition away from fossil fuels, but noted that oil and fuel will continue to exist for some years.
“Policymakers are beginning to perceive that the transition of power will not take place in a jiffy,” he told the newspaper. energy. Innovative climate action, which consists of the immediate adoption of renewable energy and other low-carbon sources, has the potential to provide sustainable energy security. But we’re not there yet. “
The UAE has sought to present itself as an oil producer in the process of modernization, improving the power of its production strategies and making an investment in renewable energy. However, many wonder if even a cutting-edge oil economy can beat the flag of the immediate phase-out of fossil fuels was needed to stay within the fragile 1. 5°C target.