DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Pressure to phase out fossil fuels grew Thursday on the oil company chief who took on the fragile international climate talks that opened Thursday in Dubai in what some say is a contradictory dual role.
United Nations and climate negotiations leaders may have eased some of the pressure when negotiators unanimously approved much-controversial plans to introduce and fund a program to compensate poorer countries hit by floods, storms, droughts and other climate extremes. Several nations, led by host United Arab Emirates, immediately pledged more than $420 million to the fund, which took 30 years to approve.
The leaders said they hoped the quick victory on a key financial issue would set a new tone for negotiations that had put the newly appointed head of climate negotiations in the hot seat, and not just because the planet continues Breaking heat records.
Days before the start of the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP28), pre-session notes were released that simultaneously linked the efforts of the United Arab Emirates’ national oil company ADNOC to boost fossil fuel sales to its CEO and new COP president Sultan al-Jaber were He met to curb climate change. The burning of coal, oil and gas is the main cause of global warming.
Al-Jaber vehemently rejected the BBC’s revelations on Wednesday. But several climate negotiations experts say it will likely change the tenor and perhaps even the outcome of two weeks of intense negotiations taking place about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from five offshore oil fields. More than 100,000 people were registered for the negotiations, more than double the number so far in these new UN talks.
“I think the pressure on the COP president to deliver is pretty clear and has been felt for months,” German climate chief Jennifer Morgan told The Associated Press. “That’s the focus here to really make a course correction.”
Climate negotiations historian Joanna Depledge said: “Whether true or not, the revelations are embarrassing, but I don’t think they threaten the COP. “On the contrary, there is hope that pressure on the UAE will increase.”
“It is understandable if the COP hosts and other fossil fuel-using countries began to feel the heat of this issue,” said Mohamed Adow of Power Shift Africa. “Fossil fuels are, after all, the elephant in the room and these countries cannot continue to pretend they are not a problem. This additional scrutiny is certainly welcome.”
Al-Jaber’s two positions already sparked distrust. The reporting draws even more attention in the climate negotiations to the role of coal, oil and gas in climate change and underscores efforts to eliminate the use of fossil fuels, said Ani Dasgupta, president of the World Resources Institute.
“On the one hand, the revelations undermine trust in the COP president and that will make it more difficult to forge a deal,” said former US State Department climate lawyer Nigel Purvis, CEO of Climate Advisers. “On the other hand, the UAE now has even more reason to push for a fossil fuel phase-out agreement to show the world that it is serious about becoming the first OPEC country to stop consuming oil.”
Morgan said Germany and Europe were steadfast in favor of phasing out fossil fuels, and on Wednesday U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said the United States remains in favor of a phase-out.
Bill Hare, CEO of Climate Analytics, said the UAE had pushed for a less stringent “phase-out” of fossil fuels rather than a stricter “phase-out”. He described the exit formula as “window dressing” for increased oil and gas production.
The recent reporting “absolutely confirms everyone’s concerns about greenwashing,” Hare said Thursday. “And that means the COP president must distance himself from his oil interests and look at the interests of the planet as a whole.”
Hare, like Dasgupta, Purvis, Depledge and others, said the reporting will ultimately mean that al-Jaber and oil interests will have to push for a stronger agreement to phase out fossil fuels.
United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell told negotiators he was tired of the previous “small steps” to combat climate change and urged them to do much more and faster.
“If we do not herald the eventual demise of the fossil fuel age as we know it, we are welcoming our own eventual demise,” Stiell said. “And we choose to pay with people’s lives.”
Minutes after taking the gavel on the first day of climate talks, al-Jaber cited the need for change in the way the world is supplied with energy.
“I know there are strong views on the idea of including language on fossil fuels,” al-Jaber said. “I ask you all to work together. Be flexible. Find common ground. Produce solutions and reach consensus.”
But he also spoke about the “bold decision” to involve oil companies more in climate negotiations and the pursuit of net-zero industry emissions by 2050.
WRI’s Dasgupta said there is additional pressure now because global multilateralism – when countries work together on issues – is under attack, particularly because of the recent wars in Ukraine and Gaza and the way the COVID-19 vaccine is being delivered was distributed. Added to this is the record heat this year, he said.
“We have already seen the catastrophic heat waves, floods and other events that have occurred around the world this year with 1.2 degrees of warming,” said Climate Analytics Hare. “We are facing enormous destruction here. If we don’t get this problem under control.”
Al-Jaber said he hoped negotiators could change something in the next two weeks.
“Let us restore faith in multilateralism,” al-Jaber said. “Let’s bring good news to the world that really needs it today.”
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