Controversy and Climate Change: The 28th United Nations General Convention Conference (COP28) in Dubai

On November 30, the 28th session of the United Nations General Convention on Climate Change Conference (COP28) began in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which will bring together country leaders, businessmen, activists and scientists until December 12 to seek common solutions to the global climate change crisis. By December 3, several public agreements had already been reached, including a commitment by the 50 largest oil companies to reduce methane emissions, but there are also strong concerns that key decisions will not be made and that the measure could even be used in the interests of oil and gas companies.

Even before the conference began, the question of its leadership was widely discussed. The honor of the president of the conference is traditionally held by a representative of the host country’s government, but this time it is precisely the chairman of the board of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), 50-year-old Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber. He is also the UAE Minister of Industry and High Technology, and has been the country’s top diplomat on climate change since 2020. However, the company he leads produces 3 million barrels of oil every day, so the nomination of this politician seemed absurd to many. 130 parliamentarians from both the EU and the US even sent a letter to the UN calling for the removal of al-Jaber as president of the COP28 conference, but this demand was not met.

The UAE does not believe that this could create any conflict of interest, and al-Jaber himself has stated that precisely because he is both the head of an oil company and a member of the board of a renewable energy company, he is in a good position,

2023-12-03 22:01:00
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