Summary:
-
The COP28 international climate negotiations in Dubai later this year will be presided over by the CEO of one of the largest oil firms in the world.
-
Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber currently serves as the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s CEO.In addition, he serves as the United Arab Emirates minister of industry and modern technology, hosting COP28. Campaigners argue that because there is an apparent conflict of interest, he must resign from his position as president of the oil industry.
-
The world needs to be guaranteed that he would stand aside from his position as CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, according to Climate Action International’s Tasneem Essop.
-
More than 80 countries made a strong push at COP27 for the conference to endorse phasing out coal and oil in addition to gas.
-
While some campaigners have criticised Mr. Al Jaber’s selection, others who work in climate diplomacy have praised the decision.
The COP28 international climate negotiations in Dubai later this year will be presided over by the CEO of one of the largest oil firms in the world.
Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber currently serves as the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s CEO.
In addition, he serves as the United Arab Emirates minister of industry and modern technology, hosting COP28.
Campaigners argue that because there is an apparent conflict of interest, he must resign from his position as president of the oil industry.
They think someone who has deep ties to the oil business might not press nations to drastically cut their usage and production of fossil fuels, which experts say is essential to preventing disastrous climate change.
-
The arctic regions and Europe are the most affected by warming.
-
According to the UN, the ozone layer may be rebuilt in decades.
-
Wind power generation reached a record high in 2022.
It’s not simple to oversee the global climate talks process; for months before the conference, and especially during it, every statement and action made by the president is closely watched.
Since the United Arab Emirates, the event’s hosts, are one of the world’s significant oil and gas producers, COP28 is already mired in some controversy.
Concerns that fossil fuel interests significantly influence the global climate talks process will undoubtedly grow in response to the choice of a prominent member of the energy sector to serve as the COP28’s president-designate.
Some guests of the recent COP27 conference in Egypt called it a “glorified fossil fuel trade extravaganza.”
According to an analysis of individuals who registered for the event, the number of people associated with the oil and gas business was significantly higher than at prior meetings.
At the meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, the UAE’s sizable delegation included 70 people who were directly associated with the fossil fuel industry.
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company ranked as the 12th largest oil company in the world, is led by Mr. Al Jaber.
Over the past ten years, he has emerged as the energy industry’s public face in the UAE, but he will be the first active oil executive to serve as COP president.
He serves as a minister as his nation’s climate ambassador, and as chairman of Masdar, a government-owned renewable energy company he assisted in founding.
Although he has long expressed worry about the risks of climate change, activists are worried about his appointment and are urging him to resign from his industry positions.
The world needs to be guaranteed that he would stand aside from his position as CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, according to Climate Action International’s Tasneem Essop.
“With such a conflict of interest, leading a business accountable for the catastrophe, he cannot preside over a process that addresses the climate crisis.”
The fact that large oil and gas producers are opposed to a more expedited phase-out of all fossil fuels will worry environmentalists.
More than 80 countries made a strong push at COP27 for the conference to endorse phasing out coal and oil in addition to gas.
Strong opposition from nations that rely on exporting fossil fuels caused this plan to fail.
While some campaigners have criticised Mr. Al Jaber’s selection, others who work in climate diplomacy have praised the decision.
Yvo de Boer, the UN’s top climate official from 2006 to 2010, stated, “The UAE has embraced a sound green growth strategy and is a big investor in renewable energy both at home and abroad.”
“Many of these concerns have benefited from the assistance of the COP president-elect. As a result, he has the knowledge, skills, and accountability needed to ensure that COP28 is ambitious, creative, and future-focused.”
Those abilities will undoubtedly be tested at the Dubai gathering in the first few days of December.
The first official evaluation of carbon reduction efforts since the Paris Agreement’s signing will occur during COP28.
The “global stocktake,” as it is called, will be very important for figuring out how much countries need to cut their emissions.
