Text & Context: The uproar over the new COP28 President
The UAE announced Sultan al-Jaber, the CEO of National Oil Company, as president to helm the climate negotiations. This move has received backlash from Western lawmakers, leaders of some countries, as well as civil society groups.
Text & Context: The uproar over the new COP28 President
The UAE announced Sultan al-Jaber, the CEO of National Oil Company, as president to helm the climate negotiations. This move has received backlash from Western lawmakers, leaders of some countries, as well as civil society groups.
Mr. al-Jaber was appointed as UAE's Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology in 2020. He was also appointed, for the second time, UAE's special envoy for climate change in the same year. He's held numerous posts in different fields over the years.
Climate groups have raised concerns over the appointment of an oil executive to head a summit responsible for brokering global negotiations to mitigate climate change and build a framework to meet the 2015 Paris Agreement. The 2015 pledge is to limit global warming to 1.5 °C as against the pre-industrial levels. The scientific community believes that reducing the production and use of fossil fuel resources– coal, oil, gas– is the only way to meeting the target.
The UAE leader, at Bonn, did say that COP 28 was going to be "inclusive" and deliver a "game- changing" outcome, however he said nothing about fossil fuels. His 2030 strategy is to build a more "profitable upstream, more valuable downstream and more sustainable and economic gas supply", which essentially means more fossil fuels.
Experts also highlight that it is in UAE's interest to continue the production of fossil fuels as the 10th largest oil producer in the world and as a member of the OPEC+.
Meanwhile, the U.S and the U.K. have backed al-Jaber's presidency. Developing nations like Maldives and Bangladesh have also said that fossil fuel-dependent economies are critical to climate negotiations and mitigation efforts, and that they have a more difficult task defining their energy transition strategy.
India too has supported al-Jaber's appointment.