A group of US lawmakers wants the Biden administration to ask the United Arab Emirates to remove the oil company chief the country has chosen to lead the next UN climate talks – or at least “demand assurances” that the UAE is a Will boost the ambitious COP28 summit.
in A letter to Special Presidential Climate Envoy John Kerry27 members of the House and Senate told him to “urge” the UAE withdraw appointment Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, who is also the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, will lead the COP28 discussions, which begin on 30 November in Dubai. The company is one of the world’s largest oil producers.
“The appointment of an oil company executive to head COP 28 poses a risk to the negotiation process as well as the conference as a whole,” said the note, shared exclusively with POLITICO.
“To help ensure that COP 28 is a serious and productive climate summit, we believe that the United States should urge the United Arab Emirates to name a separate leadership for COP 28 or It should at least seek assurances that it will lead to an ambitious COP 28.” aligned with the 1.5°C limit,” the lawmakers said.
Kerry – along with other climate diplomats, including the EU’s Frans Timmermans – has repeatedly defended Al Jaber’s appointment in recent weeks, calling him a “fantastic choice” in an interview. associated Press, Carey also said that ADNOC understands the need to shift its business away from fossil fuels. Carey’s office was not immediately available for comment on the letter.
A COP28 spokesperson, who had not seen the letter, defended Al Jaber’s record “as a diplomat, minister and business leader in the energy and renewables industry.” He highlighted his role as the founder of renewables company Masdar, calling it “one of the world’s largest renewable energy companies with clean energy investments in more than 40 countries”.
“His experience uniquely enables him to call on both the public and private sector to bring practical solutions to achieve the goals and aspirations of the Paris Climate Agreement,” the spokesperson said.
But US lawmakers noted the long history of fossil fuel industry interference in climate talks.
“Having a fossil fuel champion in charge of the world’s most important climate negotiations would be like having the CEO of a cigarette conglomerate in charge of global tobacco policy. It runs the risk of undermining the essence of what it is trying to accomplish,” he wrote.