The head of one of the world’s biggest oil companies has been named to lead the COP28 global climate talks in Dubai, later this year. UAE names oil chief to lead COP28 talks.
Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber is currently the chief executive officer of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. He is also the minister for industry and advanced technology for the COP28 hosts, the United Arab Emirates. Campaigners say he must stand down from his oil business role while president as it is a clear conflict of interest.
They believe someone steeped in the oil industry may not push countries to rapidly reduce their production and use of fossil fuel, which scientists say is critical to avoiding dangerous climate change. Running the global climate talks process is not an easy job – for months before, and especially during the conference, every word and action of the president is heavily scrutinized.
The recent COP27 gathering in Egypt was described by some attendees as a “glorified fossil fuel trade show”.
Analysis of those who registered for the event showed a significant increase in those who were connected to the oil and gas industry compared to previous meetings. Among the large delegation from the UAE at the conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, there were 70 people closely connected to fossil fuels. Mr Al Jaber is the chief executive of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, said to be the world’s 12th biggest oil company.
Over the past decade, he has become the face of the UAE’s energy industry but he will be the first serving oil executive to assume the role of COP president. As well as being a minister and his country’s climate envoy, he is also chairman of Masdar, the government-owned renewable energy company that he helped set up.
