Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault promises to “collaborate” with the president of the next UN climate conference (COP28), Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, who heads the largest oil company in the United Arab Emirates . The latter has often pleaded for an increase in the exploitation of fossil fuels, which are at the origin of the climate crisis which threatens humanity today.
The United Arab Emirates, which will host COP28 at the end of this year, confirmed on Thursday that the conference will be chaired by Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber. “We will bring a pragmatic, realistic and solution-oriented approach,” he promised, in a statement published by the official government news agency. “Climate action is a huge economic opportunity for investing in sustainable growth. Funding is the key. »
Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber already acts as the special envoy for climate change for the monarchical state. He is also the Chairman and CEO of the country’s main national oil company, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, whose annual turnover exceeds 60 billion dollars.
This multinational, the twelfth largest oil company in the world, specializes in particular in the marketing of drilling operations, oil refining and liquefied natural gas projects. It already exploits nearly four million barrels of oil per day and plans to increase production to more than five million barrels by 2030.
The sultan is also an ardent defender of the development of the oil and gas sector. Last November, in a speech at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, he pleaded for the increased development of fossil fuels over the next few years.
Ottawa will “collaborate”
Is his appointment to the presidency of a conference that should help raise global climate ambitions a good decision? “Minister Guilbeault intends to collaborate later this year with the President of COP28 in order to pursue the implementation of a vigorous and ambitious program on the fight against climate change”, argued Thursday the office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault, in response to questions from the To have to.
“Canada will continue to be a driving force for increased climate ambition at the international level at COP conferences, as we have done in recent years,” the minister’s office added. “We are more determined than ever to support the global transition to cleaner, renewable forms of energy, breaking our reliance on fossil fuels. »
On the Quebec government side, they say they want to wait before deciding. “We are going to judge the presidency of COP28 by the leadership it will assume during the latter,” replied, by email, the office of the Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette.
Dependence on fossil fuels
Reacting to the appointment of Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, for his part reaffirmed that “there is no way to avoid a climate catastrophe without ending” dependence to fossil fuels.
Negative reactions also multiplied Thursday on the side of environmental groups, after the appointment of the senior executive of an oil company to pilot the conference planned in Dubai.
The Greenpeace organization said it was “deeply alarmed” by this appointment, a first in the history of UN climate conferences. “This sets a dangerous precedent, jeopardizing the credibility of the United Arab Emirates and the trust placed in it by the UN on behalf of the people, current and future generations,” it was argued. “It’s not all over, but there will be a lot to do to prevent the Dubai summit from turning into another greenwashing event for the oil and gas industry. »
The Emirates sent the largest contingent of industry lobbyists to COP27 in November in Egypt. The Gulf country, which is one of the main oil exporters in the world, pleads for a gradual exit from hydrocarbons. However, he estimates that more than 600 billion dollars per year will be needed in the oil and gas industry by 2030 to meet global demand.
The former head of the UN climate, Christiana Figueres, recalled Thursday that the International Energy Agency is formal: To limit global warming to the viable threshold of 1.5°C, all new energy projects must be banned. exploration or exploitation of fossil fuels right now. In this context, she insisted, COP28 must make it possible to “accelerate decarbonisation”. “There is no other option,” she added.
At present, the commitments made by the signatory countries of the Paris Agreement lead us rather towards a warming of at least 2.5°C, according to the UN. What’s more, data released recently by the International Energy Agency indicates that global greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion will increase by 300 million tonnes in 2022, to 33, 8 billion tons.