TheCable

Members of the US Congress and the European parliament have called for the removal of Sultan Al Jaber as the president-designate of the United Nations climate change conference (COP28).

The COP28 is scheduled to hold in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in December.

In January, TheCable reported that the UAE announced Al Jaber, the head of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), as the president of COP28.

But climate scientists and campaigners have kicked against the choice of Al Jaber as the president-designate, arguing that someone steeped in the oil industry may not push countries to rapidly reduce their fossil fuel use.

In a letter on Tuesday, signed by over 100 members and addressed to US President Joe Biden, Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President and the United Nations, the US and EU lawmakers asked that Al Jaber’s appointment be withdrawn. 

They said the proposed withdrawal would prevent private-sector polluters from exerting undue influence on UN climate talks.

“Dear President Biden, President von der Leyen, Secretary General Guterres, and Executive Secretary Stiell. We, the undersigned members of the United States Congress and members of the European Parliament, write to urge you to address our profound concern that current rules governing the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) permit private-sector polluters to exert undue influence on UNFCCC processes,” the letter reads.

“We address this letter to the executive leaders from the jurisdictions in which our respective bodies function and to UNFCCC leadership, who can work collectively to enact the requested reforms.

“Ahead of the annual Conference of the Parties (COP28) climate negotiations, enacting policies that expose the influence of corporate polluters in UNFCCC meetings will help ensure that climate science takes precedence over climate delay and greenwashing. 

“To that end, we urge you: (i) to engage in diplomatic efforts to secure the withdrawal of the President-designate of COP28; and (ii) to take immediate steps to limit the influence of polluting industries, particularly major fossil fuel industry players whose business strategies lie at clear odds with the central goals of the Paris Agreement, at gatherings of the UNFCCC.”

The lawmakers described Al Jaber’s appointment as one that “risks undermining the negotiations”, because he is “the chief executive of one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies —a company that has recently announced plans to add 7.6 billion barrels of oil to its production in the coming years, representing the fifth largest increase in the world”.

They added that his removal will “help restore public faith in the COP process” and ensure that COP28 is a “serious and productive climate summit”.

They also asked the UNFCCC to institute new policies for corporate participation in its processes, including requiring the submission of an audited corporate political influencing statement that discloses climate-related lobbying, campaign contributions, and funding of trade associations and organizations active on energy and climate issues.