Where you met oil lobbyists in long queues
At the climate conference in Dubai, there are also several exciting topics outside of the negotiations. For example, the statements made by the head of COP28 against a move away from fossil fuels. Long queues are also a source of criticism. And the fact that oil lobbyists, of whom the conference is teeming, can be encountered in them.
Tens of thousands of participants and long distances
The metro, which runs to the conference site, is fast and reliable. However, it could take some time for the conference participants to get from the metro station to their actual destination on the extensive conference site. The crowds were particularly large at the beginning of the first and second week of the conference and during the summit segment with numerous heads of state and government.
In order to channel the crowds into orderly channels, belt barriers were set up like in front of airport counters so that conference participants could not simply walk straight to the conference entrance, but had to cover many additional meters back and forth. This meant that what should have been a five-minute walk from the metro to the conference site could take half an hour or longer.
"It's terrible here," moaned one conference participant at the beginning. After the various queues before the COP, "you're done by the time you arrive". And even on site, on the former Expo 2020 site, the routes were well signposted but sometimes long. However, a large conference site was necessary in view of the record number of participants at the 28th World Climate Conference: more than 88,000 people were accredited.
But while many outsiders were upset about this high number and the many flights to Dubai, the participants on site also saw it positively. Delegates and NGOs said that the crowds showed the importance of the climate negotiations. The world climate conferences are no longer just a negotiation format, but now also a forum for exchange and initiatives outside the UN negotiations as well as a kind of trade fair for climate-friendly solutions for corporations.
A Mecca for oil lobbyists too
COP28 President Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber set the goal in advance of making the climate conference in Dubai the "most inclusive COP ever". However, not only representatives of civil society from all over the world attended, but also business representatives and lobbyists. The participation of lobbyists from the oil and gas industry in particular caused a lot of criticism.
In the first week of the conference, an alliance of non-governmental organizations, citing preliminary documents provided by the host country, made it public that 2456 lobbyists from this industry had been accredited at COP28 - and these were only the clearly identifiable cases.
Environmental organizations such as 350.org considered it "scandalous" that the oil and gas lobbyists often travelled to Dubai as part of national delegations - for example the head of the energy company Total, Patrick Pouyanné, on the French ticket or employees of BP, Eni and ExxonMobil on the EU ticket.
Statements by COP President al-Jaber in need of explanation
COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber was also criticized in advance for being a lobbyist. After all, he is not only the Emirates' Minister of Industry, but also heads the state-owned oil company Adnoc. At the beginning of COP28, statements against a move away from fossil fuels caused a stir, which the British Guardian attributed to al-Jaber.
"No scientific study, no scenario says that we can achieve 1.5 degrees by phasing out fossil fuels," said the Emirati at an event on November 21. A hasty exit from fossil fuels could take the world "back to the cave age".
Al-Jaber and his staff had their hands full trying to contain the storm of indignation. The quotes in the Guardian were taken out of context, they said. The COP President himself assured the conference participants that "everything we do is focused on science". He is also working closely with his "friend Jim", the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Jim Skea. According to the IPCC, the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees is not achievable without moving away from fossil fuels.
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Despite the criticism, the COP28 climate conference in Dubai attracted a record number of participants, exceeding 88,000 accredited attendees.
The presence of oil lobbyists at the conference was a topic of concern, with over 2400 lobbyists from the oil and gas industry identified by non-governmental organizations.
The COP28 President, Sultan al-Jaber, faced criticism for his statements against a move away from fossil fuels, with some interpreting his words as opposing efforts to limit global warming.
During the conference, Dubai emerged as a Mecca for oil lobbyists, with representatives of oil and gas companies attending as part of national delegations, raising questions about the meeting's inclusivity and its commitment to environmental protection and climate protection.
Source: www.ntv.de
