The head of the United Arab Emirates' national oil company was named Thursday as president of this year's COP28 climate talks, prompting fierce criticism from environmental activists.

Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, who heads up the UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), will be the first CEO to take the role at the UN summit, said a statement carried by the official WAM news agency.

"We will bring a pragmatic, realistic and solutions-oriented approach that delivers transformative progress for climate and for low carbon economic growth," Jaber said in the statement.

"I sincerely believe that climate action today is an immense economic opportunity for investment in sustainable growth," he added.

Environmental activists were quick to react, warning that the involvement of a major figure from the oil industry could slow progress in the fight against global warming.

Jaber's appointment "poses an outrageous conflict of interest", said Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy at Climate Action Network International.

"The ongoing menace of fossil fuel lobbyists at the UN climate talks has consistently weakened outcomes of the climate conference but this takes it to another dangerous and unprecedented level."

COP27, held in Egypt in November, concluded with the adoption of a hotly contested text on aid to poor countries affected by climate change, but failed to set new ambitions for lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

The UAE's hosting of this year's edition, in Dubai in November and December, has provoked concern from activists urging a shift away from oil, which produces greenhouse gases.

– Too hot for humans –

The UAE, one of the world's biggest crude producers, argues that oil remains indispensable to the global economy and is pushing the merits of carbon capture — removing carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, as fuel is burned or from the air.

"Limiting global warming to 1.5C will require significant reductions in emissions, a pragmatic, practical and realistic approach to the energy transition and more help for emerging economies," the UAE's statement said, referring to the goal set at previous COP summits.

"The UAE is committed to multilateral cooperation and an inclusive process that brings together emerging economies with developed nations, civil society, and business to achieve the solutions and the pace of change required."

The UAE is one of the countries at the sharp end of climate change as it lies in one of the world's hottest regions, with summer temperatures nudging 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).

According to a study published in 2021, parts of the Gulf could become too hot for human habitation by the end of this century.

Having diversified its economy over the decades, the UAE relies less and less on oil, whose revenues now make up 30 percent of GDP.

But the Gulf state forecasts that the oil and gas industry would need to invest more than $600 billion every year until 2030 just to keep up with expected demand.

At the same time, the UAE is spending billions to develop enough renewable energy to cover half of its needs by 2050, when it is targeting domestic carbon neutrality — which excludes emissions from its exported oil.

Oil boss as climate talks host: what's behind UAE's choice?
Dubai (AFP) Jan 12, 2023 –

The United Arab Emirates has picked the head of its national oil company as president of this year's COP28 climate talks, prompting criticism from environmental activists.

Here we examine the UAE's reasons for choosing Sultan Al Jaber and what message it is sending ahead of the UN climate talks later this year.

– Who is Sultan Al Jaber? –

Al Jaber is the chief executive of the UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), which is one of the world's biggest oil firms.

The 49-year-old, who was educated in the United States and Britain, is also the UAE's Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology.

He was named the UAE's special climate envoy in 2020, a post he also previously held from 2010-2016.

He is also the founder of Masdar — a multibillion-dollar, state-backed company that invests in renewable energy, backing projects in more than 40 countries since it was founded in 2006, according to UAE state media.

Al Jaber, who has taken part in more than 10 COP meetings, headed the UAE's delegation to the last UN climate summit in Egypt. It was by far the biggest delegation to attend the talks, and one of the largest in COP history.

In 2009, he was appointed to the UN's Advisory Group on Energy and Climate Change by Ban Ki-Moon, the then secretary general.

"Sultan Al Jaber has been spearheading the UAE's climate action well before and during his tenure at ADNOC," said climate expert Karim Elgendy, Associate Fellow at Britain's Chatham House think tank.

– Why the controversy? –

Holding COP28 in a major oil-producing country has provoked concern from activists urging a shift away from oil, which produces the greenhouse gases that heat the planet.

Those worries were only stoked by the choice of a fossil fuel executive as the face of the talks.

Tasneem Essop, executive director of Climate Action Network International said it was a "conflict of interest" to choose a figure "heading an industry that is responsible for the crisis itself".

Jaber's nomination also heightened concerns that lobbyists looking to delay the phasing-out of fossil fuels will be given more sway.

Already, the COP26 in Scotland had 500 fossil fuel lobbyists in attendance — a figure that only increased with COP27 in Egypt, with the UAE sending the highest number.

"COP28 needs to conclude with an uncompromised commitment to a just phase out all fossil fuels: coal, oil and gas," said Tracy Carty from Greenpeace International.

"There is no place for the fossil fuel industry in the global climate negotiations."

– What's the message? –

The UAE — one of the world's biggest crude producers — "sees no contradiction" in the selection of Al-Jaber, Elgendy said.

The Gulf nation has repeatedly maintained that oil and gas will be needed for decades to power the world economy, while generating revenues that could be invested in renewable energy sources.

"The choice of Dr Sultan is absolutely representative of the UAE's approach to climate action, which pledges to decarbonise its economy… but advocates for its moral right to export every molecule of fossil fuel," Elgendy said.

"It argues that the world will still need some fossil fuel supplies by 2050 and that these should come from the lowest cost and lowest carbon producers," namely Gulf Arab countries, Elgendy added.

The UAE is also a strong advocate for including oil executives in the climate conversation, arguing that their experience in the energy industry is helpful in tackling climate change.

"For Gulf countries, where oil wealth contributes significantly to the economy, a great deal of climate action will need to come from this exact sector," said Aisha Al-Sarihi, a research fellow at the National University of Singapore's Middle East Institute.

"Excluding the oil industry from the negotiating table might not serve the region," the Omani expert told AFP.