Sultan Al Jaber will potentially be appointed president of COP28, a major event dedicated to international action on the climate crisis. Yet he runs the 12th most fossil fuel-producing company in the world, while investing in renewable energies. An ambiguity that does not reassure.
The COP represents the most important political event for the climate each year. Paradoxically, in 2022, COP27 was marked by the strong presence of lobbyists defending the interests of the fossil fuel industry. As a result, the final report did not really mention actions aimed at reducing these polluting emissions, nor even recalled the role of humanity in climate change.
Some of the lobbyists present at COP27 belonged to the Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, a country with a strong presence in the oil industry. COP28, in 2023, will however be held in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. But the paradox goes much further: as noted The Guardian, on January 11, it would seem that the president of the debates will be Sultan Al Jaber. This is none other than the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc).
Adnoc or the 12th oil power in the world
The oil company Adnoc is the 12th in the world in terms of production. Sultan Al Jaber also takes on other roles in the country: he is the Minister of Industry and Advanced Technologies; and he manages the Masdar company dedicated to renewable energies.
The problem is indeed the incompatibility of interests: the president of the COP sessions has a role of arbitrator, in favor of actions to mitigate global warming, to induce a reduction in gas emissions Greenhouse effect. It must hold governments to account that are failing to meet targets such as those of the Paris Agreement. It seems quite unlikely that the leader of an oil company will properly moderate debates aimed at reducing the room for maneuver of oil companies.
Sultan Al Jaber’s profile is quite ambiguous as to his ability to take on this role without conflict of interest. While leading an oil company, he nevertheless participates in the development of renewable energies in his country and he has distinguished himself, at several international forums, with positions taken in favor of a response to climate change — emphasizing the economic interest renewable energies. It is a paradox that the Wall Street Journal featured in June 2022 : one of the largest investors in renewable energy, financially, is also a major producer of fossil fuels.
” It is imperative to reassure the whole world by leaving his role as CEO of the national oil company said Tasneem Essop of Climate Action International, with the BBC. ” He cannot preside over a process that is tasked with tackling the climate crisis with such a conflict of interest, leading an industry that is itself responsible for the crisis. »
