(Ottawa) The Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault, says that all his discussions with Sultan Al Jaber, who chairs COP28, focused on international negotiations on climate change. The BBC revealed on Monday that Mr. Al Jaber, also president of an oil company, wanted to use his role at the COP to conclude deals in fossil fuels, particularly in Canada.
“What I can tell you is that I have had numerous meetings with the president of COP28, four or five since last spring, and we have only discussed international negotiations on climate change,” indicated Minister Guilbeault upon his arrival for the Cabinet meeting.
He refrained from commenting further on the BBC’s revelations. The Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change is one of the co-facilitators of this annual United Nations climate conference.
In a recent interview with The Press, Mr. Guilbeault expressed his optimism regarding the conclusion of an agreement on the gradual elimination of fossil fuels at COP28 which begins in two days. He considered that Mr. Al Jaber “is very sensitive” to the cynicism fueled by the holding of this event in his oil and gas monarchy and that he has influence with other major producers. Mr. Al Jaber is Minister of Industry and Chief Executive Officer of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) National Oil Company, and therefore has influence with other major producers.
PHOTO BRYAN BEDDER, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Sultan Al Jaber
The BBC has obtained its hands on a 150-page compilation of briefing notes prepared by the COP28 team for meetings with Sultan Al Jaber between July and October 2023, collected by journalists from the Center for Climate Reporting (CCR) .
She claims they were drawn up by the UAE COP28 team for meetings with at least 27 foreign governments ahead of the summit. They include “talking points,” such as one for China that Emirati oil company Adnoc wants to “jointly evaluate international opportunities” in liquefied natural gas in Mozambique, Canada and Australia.
Greenpeace International denounced Sultan Al Jaber’s conflict of interest while a COP28 spokesperson responded that the documents relied on by the BBC “are inaccurate and were not used by COP28 during meetings”.
When he reacted on Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres could “not believe it was true”.
The CCR claims to have verified the authenticity of the documents provided to the BBC which were obtained via a “whistleblower” who remained anonymous for fear of reprisals. COP28 will take place until December 12 in Dubai.
With Agence France-Presse and Jean-Thomas Léveillé