For subscribers

An oil boss will lead UN climate talks. Will he really push the green agenda?

He heads the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Will this conflict with his new role leading COP28?

United Arab Emirates' Minister of State and CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, addresses the public at the opening session of the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum, in the capital Abu Dhabi, on January 14, 2023. - Al-Jaber, the president of this year's COP28 climate talks, who heads one of the world's biggest oil companies, said less-polluting fossil fuels would remain part of the energy mix, along with renewables and other solutions. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP)

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, chief executive of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, speaking at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

PHOTO: AFP

David Fogarty

Follow topic:

One of the world’s most influential oil and gas executives has just been

appointed president of the United Nations’ climate talks

that will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the end of the year.

The decision at first glance seems riddled with conflicts of interest, given that the use of fossil fuels has caused a sharp increase in the amount of planet-heating carbon emissions in the atmosphere, and this increase is driving climate change. Despite the threat, the fossil fuel industry wants to expand production.

An oil boss will lead UN climate talks. Will he really push the green agenda?

Follow topic:

See more on