Why uae’s sultan al jaber an oil company ceo has caused controversy for heading climate change conference

Why uae’s sultan al jaber an oil company ceo has caused controversy for heading climate change conference

The appointment of Sultan Al Jaber is not the first time that the oil industry has gotten involved in climate talks. We explain.

United Arab Emirates Minister Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber speaks during the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, October 31, 2022. (Photo via REUTERS/Amr Alfiky)

The UAE, which will host this year’s annual climate change conference (COP 28 in November) has named one of its ministers, Sultan Al Jaber, as the president of the conference. The decision has invited criticism from climate activists because Al Jaber, besides being the Minister for Industry and Advanced Technology in the UAE government, also happens to be the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, the world’s 12th largest oil company by production.

The fact that the CEO of an oil company has been named to preside over a conference on climate change when the world is attempting to move away from oil and other fossil fuels is being seen as a conflict of interest. This is the first time that anyone having a direct connection to the fossil fuel industry has been appointed as president of the climate change conference.

How are climate conferences’ heads selected?

The president of these conferences of parties, or COPs as they are known, is usually a minister of the host government. It is the prerogative of the host country to nominate a president. The president’s role is to facilitate and guide the negotiations.

He/She does not have any special powers, but can intervene during the negotiations, and depending on his/her networking and skills, can nudge the negotiations in a certain direction. But the final decisions are always taken by consensus. The president of the conference, or any other individual or country, is unable to force through, or impose, a decision on others.

The storm over the appointment of Al Jaber is, therefore, largely because of the optics. The industry he represents is going to be directly affected by the decisions that are taken at the conference. It is because of this clear conflict of interest that people like Tasneem Essop, executive director of Climate Action Network International, a group of nearly 2,000 climate NGOs, want Al Jaber to step down from his role as CEO of the oil company before taking up the job of president of the climate conference.

Other controversies over oil companies in the past

The appointment of Sultan Al Jaber is not the first time that the oil industry has gotten involved in climate talks. In fact, the participation of oil companies in climate negotiations has been increasing every year. In the Glasgow meeting in 2021, over 500 delegates representing oil companies were in attendance. The number increased further in the last meeting at Sharm El-Shaikh in Egypt.

It Is not just the negotiators who attend climate conferences. A large number of corporates, NGOs, academics, youth delegations and others, also come to these meetings. A lot of activities, including corporate events, take place outside the negotiating rooms.

Climate activists have been claiming that the large presence of corporates, especially those from the fossil fuel industry, influences the negotiations in a way that prevents more radical climate decisions from being taken at these meetings. The corporates, on the other hand, say they come to these meetings to showcase their own climate actions, network, and learn about new technologies or methods being deployed across the world.

Sultan Al Jaber, incidentally, is not new to climate conferences. He has been UAE’s special envoy on climate change for more than 10 years, and has attended these meetings in that capacity. He, therefore, understands the process quite well. He also happens to be the chairman of the Masdar, a state-owned renewable energy company which offers him a green qualification as well.

As president of COP28, Sultan Al Jaber might not be able to make any material difference to the final outcome, but his continued presence, without relinquishing his position in the oil company, is expected to become a major distraction at the negotiations. The powerful climate NGO community is unlikely to give him a free pass, because of which his ability to guide the negotiations effectively might get affected.