COP28 in the United Arab Emirates | A controversial nomination for the presidency

He is a minister, CEO of an oil company and his country’s special envoy for the climate. Does the appointment of Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber as President of COP28 compromise the chances of success of the next major climate event to be held in the United Arab Emirates at the end of the year? Close-up on a controversial decision.

Who is Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber?

The appointment was confirmed Thursday. Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber will assume the presidency of COP28 which will take place in the United Arab Emirates next November. The 49-year-old wears many hats in his country. He has been a member of the Council of Ministers since 2013 and has held the position of Minister of Industry and Advanced Technologies since 2020. Since 2016, he is also the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), an oil company belonging to the State where he began his career as an engineer. He also runs a public company, Masdar, which specializes in renewable energy. “We will bring a pragmatic, realistic and solution-oriented approach,” he promised. Climate action is a huge economic opportunity for investing in sustainable growth. Funding is the key. »

An appointment that goes wrong

The choice of a personality from “an industry which is itself responsible for the crisis” creates a “conflict of interest”, declared the director of the organization Climate Action Network International Tasneem Essop. “COP28 must conclude with an uncompromising commitment to an exit from all fossil fuels: coal, oil and gas”, added Tracy Carty, from Greenpeace International, saying that there is “no room” for this industry in the negotiations. According to Caroline Brouillette, Executive Director of the Climate Action Network in Canada, the man must leave the management of ADNOC if he wants to chair the COP. “It’s so rude and goofy, an oil CEO chairing a COP. »

A regular at climate conferences

“Sultan al-Jaber spearheaded the Emirates’ climate action long before, and during, his tenure at ADNOC,” the climate expert at the Chatham think tank told Agence France-Presse. House, Karim Elgendy. The man was appointed in 2009 to the advisory group on energy and climate change at the UN by then-Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. He is a regular at COPs. He will be at his 10^e conference, points out Hugo Séguin, fellow at the Center for International Studies and Research at the University of Montreal (CÉRIUM) and specialist in climate negotiations. Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber also led the United Arab Emirates delegation to COP27 in Egypt.

How the 8^e world oil producer host a climate conference?

COPs are governed by UN rules that provide for rotation between five regional groups: Western Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe and finally America Latin and the Caribbean. Countries propose their candidature which must be approved by all the members. “It is important, this rotation”, specifies Caroline Brouillette, of the Canada Climate Action Network, who does not question the choice of the United Arab Emirates as host country. “The COPs have this ability to expose the contradictions [de chaque pays] “, adds Eddy Perez, lecturer at the University of Montreal and specialist in climate negotiations.

Is this not incompatible with carbon neutrality objectives?

“The choice of Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber is absolutely representative of the Emirates’ approach to climate action, which is committed to decarbonizing its economy […], but defend their moral right to export every molecule of fossil fuel,” recalled Karim Elgendy, of Chatham House. ” They [les Émirats] are inconsistent, like everyone else, like Canada,” says Hugo Séguin.

Is COP28 threatened?

Several environmental groups are already denouncing the growing influence of lobbyists from the oil and gas sector in the context of these international meetings. Considering the importance of the presidency, which is the conductor of a COP, the appointment of the boss of the oil industry is hardly reassuring. “How to ensure that COP28 is not captured by industry? “, asks Caroline Brouillette, especially since this meeting should be used to take stock of the actions since the Paris agreement in 2015. “It would be better if he resigned [de son poste de PDG], argues Hugo Séguin. But we can’t assume that he won’t be able to commit to his role. It’s a bit of a short argument. »

COPs increasingly criticized

In an editorial published on Wednesday, the prestigious journal Nature severely criticized these international meetings. “The COPs have created momentum and pressure for coordinated action, but the influence of oil and gas interests will continue to limit their ambition. This is why more countries must commit to ending new oil and gas development, independently or collectively, through partnerships like the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance.

With Agence France-Presse