Al Gore, Antonio Guterres, and other climate bigwigs react in horror to UAE’s plan to use Cop28 to shill oil

Leading climate voices reacted with shock and horror after a recent report alleged that the United Arab Emirates was planning to leverage the upcoming UN climate summit for new oil and gas deals.

Just four days before the start of the summit, leaked briefing documents revealed the UAE ’s intention to discuss fossil fuel agreements with nations, contradicting its role as the summit’s host.

The UAE’s Cop28 team prepared talking points for meetings with 15 foreign governments, indicating intentions to explore oil and gas deals, according to briefing documents accessed by independent journalists at the Centre for Climate Reporting and BBC.

The revelation has heightened concerns about a conflict of interest at the climate summit. Already the presidency was under fire after the appointment of Sultan al Jaber, CEO of Abu Dhabi’s state-owned oil company Adnoc, as Cop28 president.

According to the briefing points, Adnoc was willing to explore oil and gas in Mozambique, Canada and Australia, while in Colombia it said Adnoc “stands ready” to help develop its oil and gas reserves”, according to the report.

It also suggested discussing commercial opportunities with other countries, including Germany and Egypt.

The reports found that on at least one occasion, a nation followed up on commercial discussions.

Climate activists, many Western lawmakers , and even the Pope has called out this conflict of interest in the past.

Climate campaigning group 350.org said at the time that making Mr Jaber Cop28 president is like “appointing the CEO of a cigarette company to oversee a conference on cancer cures”.

Now climate voices from around the world are saying their worst fears have been confirmed.

Former US vice president and environmentalist Al Gore said the allegation are “utterly appalling”.

“The chances for real progress at COP28 were badly damaged early this year when an oil company CEO was appointed to lead the negotiations,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“And now investigative journalists have confirmed some of the worst fears of those who criticized that absurd appointment.”

“Using international climate talks as leverage to shore up support for pumping more oil and gas at a time when we urgently need to phase out fossil fuels is – to say the least – utterly appalling.”

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres , who has just returned from his trip to the Antarctic to take stock of the impact of the climate crisis, was also asked about the report.

“I can’t believe it is true,” he told reporters in his address.

Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said the Cop28 presidency must “step up the transparency” now that they are “caught red handed”.

The Independent has reached out to the Cop28 presidency for a response.

In a statement to BBC, the UAE team did not deny using Cop28 meetings for business talks, and said “private meetings are private”.

This year’s climate summit comes after record-breaking temperatures leading to wildfires, floods and droughts around the world driven by the climate crisis. 2023 is well on track to be the hottest year ever recorded.

Getting the world out of the grips of fossil fuel dependency is one of the biggest ambitions of climate negotiations.

While differences already exist between countries over how quickly they are able to wean themselves off of these planet-heating fuel sources, the role of the presidency is to steer the countries in the direction of the strongest possible outcome.

Kaisa Kosonen, policy coordinator at Greenpeace International, said this revelation was a “real scandal” ahead of the negotiations.

“The climate summit leader should be focused on advancing climate solutions impartially, not backroom deals that are fuelling the crisis. This is exactly the kind of conflict of interest we feared when the CEO of an oil company was appointed to the role.”

Tasneem Essop, an executive director at the campaign group Climate Action Network, said: “The hosting of climate conferences carries a profound responsibility: to be forthright, equitable, and resolutely courageous in the battle against climate change,”

“The issue becomes particularly problematic if their interests conflict fundamentally with addressing the climate crisis.”

The road ahead for the UAE presidency will be to regain its credibility through actions, experts say. The Cop28 summit will kickstart on Thursday and go on till 12 December.