Meet Sultan al Jaber, the secretive oil tycoon once ‘responsible for all media censorship’ in UAE who is accused of trying to sign fossil fuel deals on the sidelines of COP28

• Jaber’s appointment as COP28 President invited praise and scathing criticism 

When the United Arab Emirates in January announced Sultan al-Jaber would lead this year’s COP28 climate talks, the news was met with high praise and harsh criticism in equal measure. 

For some, Jaber – who earned his PhD in business and economics from Coventry University of all places – was a fantastic choice.

In 2006, he was put in charge of Masdar, the UAE’s renewable energy vehicle, and set off on a global fact-finding mission to assess obstacles and opportunities.

The UAE has since invested heavily in its nuclear and solar sector, building a massive state-of-the-art nuclear power plant, and Masdar has made shrewd investments in technologies in over 40 countries – moves which have earned Jaber a reputation for getting results.

But for others, there’s one incontrovertible problem. 

Because for all his work on renewable energy, ‘Dr Sultan’ also happens to be the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company – a giant producer of fossil fuels which plans to up its output to a whopping 5 million barrels of oil per day by 2027.

And Amnesty International have accused him of being responsible for instituting a stringent media censorship programme when he served as chairman of the National Media Council (NMC).

Now, with the likes of eco-warrior Greta Thunberg calling his appointment ‘completely ridiculous’ – and accusations abound he plans hash out new oil and gas deals on the sidelines of COP28 – let’s take a closer look at the rise of Emirati energy kingpin Sultan al-Jaber. 

United Arab Emirates Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and COP28 President Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber speaks during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) opening in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 30, 2023

Sultan al-Jaber was born in 1973 in Umm al Quwain, one of the lesser known emirates. Although he did not come from royalty, he was tipped for success from an early age

More than 70,000 officials, campaigners, and experts are expected to attend COP28 in Dubai

Jaber was born in 1973 in Umm al Quwain, one of the lesser known emirates.

Although he did not come from royalty, he was tipped for success from an early age and studied extensively in Britain and the US, earning a BSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Southern California and an MBA from the California State University at Los Angeles.

From there he traded LA for the glitz and glamour of the West Midlands, securing his PhD in business and economics in Coventry, before returning to the UAE where he set about building a glittering career in politics, holding several ministerial positions while also developing his authority as an energy tsar.

In 2006, he secured his appointment as CEO of Masdar and embarked on a whirlwind global tour to meet with public and private sector leaders at the forefront of renewable energy tech.

Former President of Iceland Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, whose country is renowned for operating on clean energy thanks to tech that draws upon the nation’s natural geothermal reserves, spoke very highly of al-Sultan. 

‘He told me he had this vision that he wanted to make Abu Dhabi a centre for a renewable energy transformation,’ Grimsson said.

‘On the face of it, it was almost an absurd proposition. But there was something in his eyes, and his enthusiasm that made me believe that he was serious.’

Dr Sultan has also proven himself an effective diplomat and negotiator. 

When marathon deliberations in October struggled to reach an agreement on a fund to help countries recover from damage caused by climate change, Jaber leapt in, telling the 24-member UN committee that billions of lives depended on getting a deal and making it clear that failure was not an option. 

An agreement on the structure of the fund is expected to be reached in the early days of the COP28 conference.

Jaber has also struck close relationships with US climate envoy John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua – key officials representing superpowers whose collaboration will be an integral part of achieving meaningful change.

And in recent months he has worked to make more than 20 major companies across the oil and gas sector and heavy industry commit to curb emissions at COP28, after convening more than 60 top executives from the oil and gas, cement, aluminium and other heavy industries in Abu Dhabi this October.

Kerry is one of many in the sector that support Jaber’s appointment, labelling the decision a ‘terrific choice’ with other admirers pointing to the Emirati’s scientific, data-driven and logical approach to solving the climate problem.

Critics say Sultan Al Jaber shouldn’t head both a UN climate summit and a massive oil firm 

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg called Jaber’s appointment as COP28 President ‘completely ridiculous’

US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry has given Jaber high praise

But there are plenty of critics on the other side of the fence who say Jaber cannot possibly be an effective, impartial leader of climate change talks while operating as the CEO of one of the world’s biggest oil companies. 

The backlash following the announcement earlier this year was significant, with some campaigners comparing the decision to ‘appointing the CEO of a cigarette company to oversee a conference on cancer cures’. 

Teresa Anderson, the global lead on climate justice at ActionAid, made a similar comparison, likening the appointment to ‘putting the fox in charge of the henhouse’. 

She expressed concern over the increasing influence of fossil fuel interests in shaping the climate summit, while Tasneem Essop, head of the Climate Action Network, declared Jaber ‘cannot preside over a process that is tasked to address the climate crisis with such a conflict of interest’. 

Perhaps the most scathing remark was made by French MEP Manon Aubry, who called the situation an ‘absolute scandal’ and suggested that the COP28 office has lost all credibility. 

His appointment faced fresh challenge last month after the Centre for Climate Reporting and the BBC published what they claimed were leaked documents suggesting Jaber and UAE officials sought to use the COP28 conference to lobby for more oil and gas deals.  

The UN’s former climate chief Christiana Figueres said she was ‘giving up hope’ that fossil fuel firms will be part of the solution to global warming, and said that Jaber would be displaying a ‘serious breach of the responsibility of the COP presidency’ if the leaked documents are eventually verified. 

‘(COP28) is not a meeting to advance the interests of the oil and gas industry,’ she told PBS News in a linked interview hosted by the organisation Covering Climate Now.

‘This is a convening of all the governments in the world to advance the protection of the planet… precisely because of the negative consequences of mostly the operation of the oil and gas industry. 

She added that it was ‘unforgivable’ that oil and gas companies have funnelled the bumper profits of recent years into shareholder dividends and lobbying efforts – rather than invest in renewable energy technologies.

COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber walks through the venue for the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

For his part, Jaber says his experience as an oil boss adds to his ability to leverage solutions, and strongly denied the claims made by the Centre for Climate Reporting, declaring the alleged leaked documents ‘false, not true, and incorrect’.

The UAE and various other oil producing countries say coal, oil and natural gas must have a continued role, combined with technology to capture their emissions until new energy systems can sustain the world’s needs.

Jaber’s team say the approach is refreshing. ‘For many years, the COP process has been inputting the same actions and expecting different results. In Dubai, we are doing things differently. We are bringing everyone to the table because everyone is needed, and that includes the energy industry,’ a COP28 spokesperson told Sky News.

Another spokesperson for Jaber’s COP28 team responded to criticism of Jaber’s involvement with the UAE’s National Media Council, saying the organisation ‘was abolished in June 2021, and as such is not relevant to media expression in the UAE today or Dr Sultan’s work.’

On the other side of the divide are countries that say phasing out fossil fuel is the only way to achieve the Paris goal of limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), while aiming for a cap of 1.5C.

Jaber has maintained a phase down of fossil fuels is inevitable and essential, but as part of a comprehensive, thought-out energy transition plan that takes into account the circumstances of each country and region.

‘One size fits all will not work so we need to be flexible and agile,’ he told Reuters in October.

‘We should raise ambition and keep 1.5 as our north star so no-one loses sight.’

Two months after being appointed COP28 leader, Jaber in March flew to Houston to the CERAWeek energy industry event where he urged the world’s fossil fuel bosses to join the fight against climate change.

In doing so, he borrowed a famous line from US astronaut John Swigert aboard a damaged spacecraft during the Apollo 13 mission in 1970.

‘Houston, we have a problem,’ Jaber told the nearly 1,000 attendees, telling the industry leaders they must bring emissions under control. 

Whether he will succeed in getting them to do so is another matter.  

 

 

Source: Read Full Article