Leaked Documents Reveal Potential Conflict of Interest at COP28 Summit as President Al-Jaber Seeks to Promote UAE Oil and Gas Industry

On Monday, the Centre for Climate Reporting and the BBC reported on leaked documents obtained from a whistleblower that purportedly show Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the president of the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) and the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, planned to leverage his role as head of the summit to broker oil and gas deals with other countries and boost fossil fuel exports from the United Arab Emirates.

The potential conflict of interest in al-Jaber’s roles has been put back under the microscope following the revelation of remarks he reportedly made on the role of fossil fuels as nations seek to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius — a primary goal under the Paris Agreement adopted at the COP climate conference in 2015.

The Guardian reported that al-Jaber said in an online event on Nov. 21, “There is no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says the phase-out of fossil fuel is what’s going to achieve 1.5.” This statement has been seen as a pointed barb to the hosts of the COP28 conference, as the UAE is a major oil producer.

The leaked documents have sparked further controversy, as they suggest that al-Jaber planned to use his position as president of the COP28 summit to promote the UAE’s oil and gas industry. This has raised questions about the potential for a conflict of interest, as al-Jaber is both the president of the summit and the CEO of a major oil company.

The COP28 summit is an important event for the global community, as it is focused on finding solutions to the climate crisis. The revelations about al-Jaber’s potential conflict of interest have raised serious questions about the integrity of the summit and its ability to effectively address the climate crisis.