COP28 president accused of wanting to use his role at the climate conference to conclude deals in fossil fuels

According to a BBC investigation, Sultan al-Jaber, who is also head of the United Arab Emirates’ main oil company, would have prepared business meetings with at least 27 foreign governments before the summit.

Embarrassing revelations a few days before the UN climate conference. The president of COP28, Sultan al-Jaber, wanted to use his role in this international event to conclude deals in fossil fuels, according to a BBC investigation published Monday, November 27. Business discussions involving the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), of which Sultan al-Jaber is CEO, were reportedly planned at meetings of COP28, which runs from November 30 to December 12 in Dubai.

The British public channel relies on documents collected by journalists from the Center for Climate Reporting (CCR). These documents, of which this center claims to have verified the authenticity, were obtained via a “alert launcher” remained anonymous for fear of reprisals, specifies the CCR.

It is a compilation of 150 pages of briefings prepared by the COP28 team for meetings with Sultan al-Jaber between July and October 2023. The documents thus revealed, claims the BBC, were prepared by the Emirates COP28 team for meetings with at least 27 foreign governments ahead of the summit.

Private meetings that question

These documents include “talking points”, as one for China, according to which Adnoc wishes “jointly evaluate international opportunities” in liquefied natural gas in Mozambique, Canada and Australia. According to the BBC, the UAE team did not dispute the use of COP28 meetings for business discussions, and argued that “private meetings are private”.

A spokesperson for COP28 responded that “the documents mentioned in the BBC article are inaccurate and were not used by COP28 during meetings”. “It is extremely disappointing that the BBC is using unverified documents”added the spokesperson.