Ahmed al-Jaber - "Don't need COP28 for trade relations": Climate summit chief rejects oil deal accusations
The President of the 28th World Climate Conference, Sultan Amed al-Jaber, has rejected accusations of oil deals in connection with the international summit. "These allegations are false. Not true, incorrect, not accurate," al-Jaber told journalists in Dubai. According to reports from the British broadcaster BBC and the Centre for Climate Reporting (CCR) network, al-Jaber is said to have campaigned for his country's oil exports in meetings with business and government representatives in recent months. The 50-year-old heads the state-owned oil company of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Adnoc.
Al-Jaber described the accusations as an attempt to damage the work of COP28 and added: "Do you think that the UAE or I myself need the COP or the COP presidency to build better business or trade relations?" The UAE itself is capable of building relationships and partnerships, he said. "Every meeting I have had with a government or any other stakeholder has always been about one thing: my COP28 agenda and how we can take a stance together for the first time that focuses on implementation and action to keep 1.5°C within reach," BBC quotes al-Jaber as saying.
A spokesperson for the broadcaster emphasized that the reports had been "rigorously researched to the highest editorial standards". Whistleblowers had leaked internal meeting minutes and emails to the BBC and its partner network. They are said to prove that al-Jaber and his COP28 team lobbied almost 30 countries for fossil fuel projects. Oil agreements were planned with at least 15 countries. Representatives from Germany, the USA, France and the UK are also said to have taken part in the meetings.(Read the full story here.)
Activists disappointed by al-Jaber
Activists reacted with dissatisfaction to al-Jaber's statement. Alice Harrison, head of the fossil fuel campaign at Global Witness, told the UK Guardian: "The international climate process has been hijacked by the oil and gas industry. This leak must be the final nail in the coffin of the long-disproved idea that the fossil fuel industry can play any role in solving the crisis it has created."
Even now, the consequences of global warming are hard to ignore. As things stand, the earth could warm by up to three degrees by the end of the century. The aim of the 28th Climate Change Conference is to prevent this so that the 1.5 degree target agreed in Paris in 2015 can be met.
In the opening session, the head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC), Simon Stiell, called for a complete shift away from fossil fuels: "If we do not commit to a final farewell to the fossil fuel era we are familiar with, we are calling for our own final demise." Almost 100,000 representatives from countries, companies and international organizations are expected to attend the summit in Dubai.
BBC, "Guardian", Associated Press, YouTube, with material from DPA and AFP
Lesen Sie auch:
Despite the allegations of promoting fossil fuel projects during COP28 meetings, al-Jaber, the 28th Climate Change Conference president, emphasized that the UAE doesn't require the summit or its presidency to build trade relations. The climate summit, also known as the un climate conference, will take place in Dubai, bringing together over 100,000 representatives from various countries, companies, and international organizations.
Source: www.stern.de
