Activists denounce appointment of UAE oil tycoon to lead climate talks

Hundreds of climate and environmental activists from around the world have denounced the appointment of an Emirati oil executive to oversee the United Nations climate negotiations at COP28 this year.

Earlier this month, the United Arab Emirates, the host of the UN climate talks this year, named Minister of State Sultan al-Jaber to the presidency of the conference that will convene from November 30 to December 12, 2023.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), a company he runs as the chief executive, reportedly produces 4 million barrels of crude oil per day and looks to expand to 5 million barrels daily by the end of the decade.

The burning of that oil, activists complain, creates carbon dioxide emissions at a time when the climate crisis is worsening worldwide. 

Taking strong umbrage to his nomination, NGOs and civil society organizations from around the world on Thursday released a letter stating that the decision “threatens the legitimacy and efficacy” of this year's conference.

“There is no honor in appointing a fossil fuel executive who profits immensely off of fueling the climate crisis to oversee the global response to climate change,” reads the letter addressed to UN chief Antonio Guterres and Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), under which all climate negotiations are held.

It goes on to say that the move exemplifies the influence that fossil fuel companies have over international climate policy.

The letter has been signed by noted environmental and climate action groups including, 350.org, Friends of the Earth International and Greenpeace, along with five of the nine coalitions of non-governmental organizations that represent different sectors of the global population at the climate talks.

After al-Jaber was announced as the head of the next COP meeting, US climate envoy John Kerry called the UAE "a crucial partner" in the climate crisis.

The decision made by the UAE comes as the climate crisis is worsening and there have been repeated warnings from experts that the world is not on track to limit warming by the 1.5 degrees Celsius set out in the Paris Agreement

COP27 over but provided with no practical solution to fossil fuel usage

Delegates at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) expresses “anger” over a failure for pushing further ambitions on cutting emissions as in its agreement it reaffirmed the goal of keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

"The UAE's track record demonstrates it is not serious about phasing out fossil fuel use and keeping global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius," the letter states. "It is central to causing the climate crisis, not solving it."

The signatories of the letter called on the UNFCCC not to allow "big polluters" to influence climate policymaking or sponsor climate talks.

They said "world governments continue to treat the UNFCCC as an industry PR stunt and corporate trade show", despite increasing climate impacts.

During the previous round of the COP27 climate talks last year in Egypt, UAE appeared as one of the largest contingents of oil and gas lobbyists.

That meeting concluded with a landmark agreement to create a "loss and damage" fund to cover the costs that developing countries face from climate-linked natural disasters and slower impacts like sea level rise.

But observers were left disappointed that little progress had been made on reducing the planet-heating emissions from fossil fuels.

UAE is considered one of the world’s top ten oil producers, besides being one of the world's biggest polluters per capita.

Currently, approximately 84 percent of the world’s energy needs are met by the usage of fossil fuels, especially oil.

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