Documents show that the UAE planned to exploit the COP28 summit for oil deals

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The United Arab Emirates plans to use meetings related to the COP28 climate summit it is hosting later this week to pitch oil and gas deals to foreign governments, according to leaked briefing documents obtained by the non-profit Center for Climate Reporting alongside the BBC.

Sultan Al Jaber, the chair-designate of this year’s UN climate summit, has called for a “phasing out” of fossil fuels globally. But his position as COP28 president while also leading UAE state oil company ADNOC has drawn criticism from politicians in the United States and Europe over perceived conflicts of interest.

Documents published online on Monday appear to show Jaber’s plans to discuss fossil fuel deals with 15 countries including China, Brazil, Germany and Egypt. The documents have not been verified by the Financial Times. A COP spokesperson said the documents were “inaccurate”, “unverified” and had not been used by COP28 at meetings.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which oversees the summit, did not respond to a request for comment. Its website states that the role of the president of the Conference of the Parties, which hosts the climate change conference each year, includes “raising ambition to address climate change at the international level.”

Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change code of conductElected and appointed officials may not use their role for private gain or advantage, or to represent the interests of other groups. The draft rules of procedure, which have not yet been adopted by the Conference of the Parties, stipulate that “the President shall participate in the session in this capacity and may not at the same time exercise the rights of a representative of any party.”

Anne Harrison, climate advisor at Amnesty International, called for Jabeur’s resignation as president of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). “Documents suggesting he was briefed on promoting business interests at COP meetings only heighten our concerns that COP28 has been comprehensively hijacked by the fossil fuel lobby to serve its own interests,” she said, adding that it sounded “more like a fox.” “He who guards the world.” Hen house.

Lawrence Tubiana, one of the architects of the landmark Paris Agreement, told the Financial Times: “The COP presidency is meant to transcend conflicts of interest, and should focus instead on making this summit based on key issues.”

She added that the success of the climate summit will be judged based on the text that was negotiated, and whether that includes commitments to phase out fossil fuels and accelerate the deployment of renewable energy.

The United States had previously argued that Jaber could play an important role in driving change in the oil industry.

US President Joe Biden does not plan to go to the summit, but his top climate advisers are expected to attend, including former Secretary of State John Kerry and former White House chief of staff John Podesta, US officials said on Sunday.

Syrian Prime Minister Hussein Arnous will attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) as head of the country’s delegation, the pro-Syrian government newspaper Al-Watan reported on Monday. Arnous’s name also appears on the list of speakers at the summit previously published by the United Nations.

Earlier this year, the UAE invited Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to attend as part of the “inclusive COP process,” and against the backdrop of the increasing normalization of relations between the Syrian government and other Middle Eastern countries. This would have been Assad’s first global summit since 2011 to include Western governments that opposed him in Syria’s bloody civil war.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) is likely to host intense debate over emerging economies’ continued reliance on polluting fossil fuels, including coal, oil and gas.

Nearly 200 countries at the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow committed to “phasing out” – rather than “phasing out” – coal power, but fossil fuel use has barely fallen, especially With the expansion of energy demand in countries such as China, India and Indonesia.

Biden’s potential absence from the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) was expected as he grapples with war in the Middle East and prepares for his re-election campaign in 2024.

But the apparent decision to skip the world leaders’ meeting is still striking given that Biden has put the fight against climate change at the top of his domestic and international agenda and attended two recent climate summits in the UK and Egypt.

“From day one, President Biden has led and implemented the most ambitious climate agenda in history, both at home and abroad,” the White House said Monday. He has secured the largest climate investment ever, putting the United States on track to cut climate pollution in half by 2030, protecting more than 21 million acres of public lands and waters, and continues to rally world leaders to raise their collective climate ambition.

Pope Francis, 86, said at the weekend that he still plans to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in person despite suffering from a lung infection that prevented him from delivering his usual Sunday blessing in person from St. Peter’s Square in Rome.

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